Underground
by ZimmyCakes
Summary: Zim and Dib are practicing for a class play, when Gaz makes Dib so angry, he wishes her away. Now, it's up to the Irken and human to get her back, before time runs out. ZADF/ZADE/?ZADR?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _It's only forever._

 _It's not long at all._

 _The lost and the lonely._

 _No one can blame you._

 _For walking away._

 _But too much rejection._

 _No love injection._

 _Life can be easy._

 _It's not always swell._

 _Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl._

 _Cause it hurts like hell._

 _But down in the underground._

 _You'll find someone true._

 _Down in the underground._

 _A land serine._

 _A crystal moon!_

 _Ahhha haaa!_

 _It's only forever._

 _It's not long at all._

 _The lost and the lonely._

 _That's underground._

 _Underground!_

…

It was a nice, lovely evening in the green park of the city. On one of the park benches sat a strange looking young boy.

He had green skin, black hair, and purple eyes. He was wearing a maroon sweater with black stripes, the sleeves being pink with black stripes, black gloves, black slacks, and black boots. On his back, he was wearing a grey backpack with three pink spots.

He sat on the bench casually, one leg crossed over the other, as he stared down at the object in his hands.

It was a little brown book, with the title written in gold cursive. The title of the book said "Labyrinth" on it.

The boy seemed very engrossed in the story, until the sound of a twig snapping in front of him caused him to look up.

Standing in front of him, was another young boy, probably the same age. He had white skin, black hair in a scythe style, and brown eyes behind round black glasses. He wore a long black trenchcoat over a blue T-shirt with a neutral face, black slacks, and black boots. The boys stared at each other as he slowly approached.

"Give me the child." The boy demanded softly. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child you have stolen."

The green child uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, eager to catch every word the other boy was saying.

"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great."

The boy seemed to be drawing a blank as he stood there on the lawn, blushing with complete embarrassment. The green boy shook, agitated at this moment.

"Come on, Dib. You know this one." He whispered to himself.

The boy referred to as Dib stood there for a few more seconds before sighing.

"Line, please, Zim?"

The other child groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Come on Dib! This is the third take! It's the most important scene in the whole play!"

"Well I'm sorry that I keep forgetting my lines!" Dib frowned as he snatched the book away and looked at his lines. "You have no power over me."

"How hard is it to remember a line as simple as that?!" Zim shouted.

"Hey, it's not that easy." Dib frowned at him. "I'd like to see YOU go through all your lines in one go and not get all jumbled up."

"Oh please, Dib-stink, I'm nothing more than the mere villain." Zim rolled his eyes. "All's I have is just a few lines, one monologue, and two songs, and that's it. This play is all focusing on you, since because you're the main character."

"Yeah, what's up with that anyway?" Dib crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at himself. "Why do I have to play as Sarah? Why couldn't they get some girl to do it?"

"Hello, Dib-worm! Were you not listening to anything Ms. Bitters said?" Zim rolled his eyes a second time. "She said that the skool board wants the class to do the play like they did in Shakespearean times, and, last time I researched, human female worm babies were not allowed to act back in those times."

"Oh, yeah… right." Dib blushed with embarrassment. "You know you can't say those things when we're acting, right?"

"What? Worm babies?" Zim raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course I know, Dib-human. I'm not stupid."

"Sometimes I wonder."

Zim growled and snatched the book back from his frenemy, almost giving him a papercut.

"Can we just get these stupid lines over with before I…"

But before he could say anything else, the city's clock tower rang through the air. Zim and Dib looked up to the clock and gasped.

"Oh no!" Dib gasped when he saw the time. "It's already five o'clock!"

"Didn't your dad-unit say to be back home at 4:30?!" Zim's eyes widened.

"Yes! Come on!" Dib shouted as he started running. "Oh man, I am so late!"

"And in trouble!" Zim gasped as he started running too, trying to keep up with the other boy.

The two ran as fast as they could through the town, trying to reach Dib's house as fast as possible. As they ran, thunder roared through the air as dark black rainclouds started swirling in.

Quick thinking, Dib ripped off his jacket and tossed it to Zim, who caught it mid air and wrapped it around himself over his head, grateful for the protection from the harsh acid rain on his delicate, vulnerable skin.

 _No one can blame you._

 _For walking away._

 _But too much rejection._

 _No love injection._

 _Life can be easy._

 _It's not always swell._

 _Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl._

 _Cause it hurts like hell._

 _(It hurts like hell. It hurts like hell. It hurts like hell.)_

"Oh man, this is so not fair!" Dib whined when the two of them finally reached Dib's house, Professor Membrane waiting for them on the porch.

"Oh, really now son?" The genius father glared at him.

"I'm sorry." Dib smacked himself.

"Nevermind, son, I don't have time for this." Professor Membrane shook his head. "Get inside and dry off, the both of you, before you catch a cold. I have to go down to the labs and work on that cure for cancer. Gaz has already eaten and is back on her Gameslave."

"OK dad, we won't bother her." Dib nodded as they both entered. "Come on Zim, we can keep practicing our lines in my room."

"You two are still practicing that stupid play of yours?" Gaz snorted as she entered, her eyes never leaving her Gameslave.

"Unfortunately, Dib-sister, yes, we are." Zim sighed. "Although, we probably would've been done a lot sooner if your stupid big headed brother would stop forgetting his lines!"

"My head's not big!" Dib growled. "And if all you're going to do is insult me, then you can just go home and practice your lines by yourself!"

Zim's eyes widened at this. Him? Practice his lines by himself?! It was unthinkable! He had no idea what he was doing! He didn't know how to act! It was the only reason why he was working with the Dib-beast to begin with! He quickly scrambled up the stairs, trying to catch up with the human.

"Wait, Dib!" He cried as they entered his room. "I'm sorry! Can we just practice these lines and be done with this?"

"... Fine." Dib huffed, crossing his arms.

Zim smiled with approval. He went over to Dib's bed and sat down, pulling the book out.

"Let's start with the beginning." He suggested. "It's just as important as the ending line."

"Alright, fine." Dib rolled his eyes as he went to the center of the room.

He stood in the middle of his room, took a few breathers, and then looked at the alien, giving him a quick nod. Zim nodded back, holding his three fingered hand up, counting down.

"Three. Two. One. Go."

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child. He wanted everything for himself, and the girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew was that the Goblin King fell in love with her and gave her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she asked the goblins for help. 'Say your right words,' the goblins said, 'and we'll take the baby to the Goblin City, and you will be free.' But the girl knew the king of the goblins would keep the baby in his castle forever and ever and turn it into a goblin, so she suffered in silence until one night when she was tired from doing housework and hurt by the harsh words of her stepmother and she could no longer stand it."

"That's it Dib, just say the words." Zim nodded eagerly.

"I CAN BEAR IT NO LONGER! GOBLIN KING! GOBLIN KING! WHEREVER YOU MAY BE, TAKE THIS CHILD OF MINE FAR AWAY FROM ME!"

Suddenly, there was an earsplitting shriek downstairs. Zim and Dib looked at each other, their faces pale.

What the heck was that?!

Zim slowly stood up from the bed and approached the door. He opened it slowly… it was pitch black in the hall.

Dib gulped as he cautiously approached, stepping out into the hall with his Irken frenemy. They looked down the stairs… complete darkness.

"G-Gaz?" Dib nervously called. "Is that you?"

There was no answer.

"Dib-sister? Is everything alright?" Zim called next.

Still, no answer.

The two boys looked at each other, fear coursing through their veins. Did something happen to her?!

Quickly, the two of them ran down the stairs, calling Gaz's name as they stumbled. Just as they turned the corner, a strange creature jumped in front of them and screamed.

Zim and Dib screamed back in utter terror, jumping into each others arms.

The creature looked absolutely terrifying!

It had the hideous face of a pig, long, straggly black hair, and torn up cow ears on the side. It's skin glistened with blood and sweat.

The creature continued to scream and squeal, flinging its purple sleeved arms in the air.

Wait… purple sleeved arms?!

"Gaz?!" Zim and Dib both cried out.

Gaz laughed hysterically as she pulled the pig mask off her head, laughing at the two boys in front of her.

"You guys should've seen your face!" She laughed at them. "It was hysterical!"

"Gaz, why on Earth would you do that?!" Dib growled at her when he and Zim had calmed down.

"How could I not?" She laughed again. "You guys were upstairs, practicing your stupid lines for your stupid play so loudly I could hear you all the way down here. And then when you screamed the words, you made me lose my game because I was distracted. I had to do something to get my revenge."

"Is your stupid Gameslave the only thing you ever care about?!" Dib hissed.

"That, and pizza." Gaz hissed back.

"Oh my GOD you are so heartless!" Dib sneered. "Do you always think about just yourself?"

"Let me think… how long have you known me?"

Dib growled as he glared at his sister. Sometimes he wondered if they were related at all.

"Oh my gosh, Gaz, I never realized it before, but you are SO annoying!" He hissed at her. "You are JUST like the baby in our play. Cruel, heartless, spoiled, and thinks about only themselves! If the goblins were real, I'd wish them to take YOU away!"

"Dib!" Zim gasped.

Zim was shocked. He had never seen the two siblings lash out at each other like this, especially Dib. Usually, Dib would be afraid to say such things to Gaz, but it was obvious that Dib had reached his breaking point with his scary little sister, and he was no longer scared of her. Just really angry.

Dib spat at the floor by Gaz's feet and grabbed Zim's wrist, dragging him back up the stairs. Just before he slammed the door to his bedroom, he stuck his head out to the hall and screamed back down the stairs.

"I hate you Gaz! I wish the goblins would come take you away, right now!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dib slammed his bedroom door and turned away, sulking past the alien.

"Dib, are you sure that was a smart thing to do?" Zim asked him.

"Why? I'm not scared of her anymore." Dib scoffed. "She just pretends to be scary to get people to do things for her. She's nothing but a big annoying faker!"

"But… what if you hurt her feelings?"

"Gaz? Hurt feelings? Hah! You speak nonsense Zim."

"Still… I think we better check on her. Something doesn't seem right."

"And why's that?"

"Gaz hasn't come up to beat you yet!"

Dib's eyes widened as he realized that the alien was right. Usually, Gaz would beat him up for saying things like that to her, but she still has yet to come up.

Glancing at each other, fear clearly seen in their eyes, Zim and Dib both bolted down the stairs in search of the purple haired girl.

"Gaz?! Gaz?! Gaz, where are you?! Gaz?!"

The two of them kept calling and calling, but they received no answer.

"Gaz?!" Zim called as he entered the living room.

His foot suddenly kicked something and he looked down. He gasped at what he saw, his hands shooting to his mouth in shock as he knelt down to the object.

"Dib!"

Dib heard Zim calling him and quickly ran to where the Irken was.

"What is it, Zim?" He asked, but stopped dead in his tracks as he glanced at the object in his hands.

Zim turned around slowly and stood up, showing his human frenemy the object better. It was Gaz's Gameslave!

"I, don't understand." Dib gasped as he slowly took the gaming device. "Gaz never goes anywhere without this!"

"Dib…" Dib looked up to Zim as he whispered his name fearfully. "What if the goblins took her?"

"What?" Dib frowned. "Of course the goblins didn't take her, Zim. Gosh, you're more paranormal enthusiastic than I am."

"But… you wished for it."

"So? That doesn't mean anything. This is all just a complete coincidence. There are no goblins, there is no labyrinth, and there is no…"

Suddenly, Dib's sentence was interrupted as the front door and windows opened up, sending a chilling wind through the house. A white owl flew in, terrorizing the two boys as they heard strange laughter in the room. Suddenly, the owl flew back outside, and in through the front door walked a man with long, shaggy blonde hair, wearing guy makeup, and a black one piece suit with a red shawl.

Zim and Dib both gaped up at the strange man as he approached, neither one of them daring to move, speak, or even breath. Finally, Zim gathered the courage to say something.

"You're him, aren't you?" He gasped. "You're the Goblin King."

"What?" Dib frowned. "Don't be ridiculous, Zim, there's no way he's the Goblin King. He's just a strange man who decided to invade my house."

"But Dib look at him. I've never seen a human male worm-baby like him before. He certainly looks royalty."

"Alright, fine. If he's the real deal, then let's test him." Dib frowned before turning back to the strange man. "If you're the real Goblin King, then please, give me back my sister."

"What's said is said." The man exclaimed, startling both of the boys.

"Oh my god, you really are the Goblin King." Dib gasped. "Please, I didn't mean it. Give her back!"

"Oh, you didn't mean it, huh?" The Goblin King frowned.

"Please, where is she?" Dib asked.

"You both know very well where she is."

"Please, just give her back. Please…"

"Dib," The boys jumped at his voice. "Zim, go back to the bedroom. Practice your play. Forget all about the girl."

"You can't really expect us to do that, do you?" Zim frowned.

The Goblin King said nothing as he stared at the boys. Suddenly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear orb.

"I brought you a gift." He exclaimed as he held it out to them.

"What is it?" Dib frowned as he and Zim stared at it curiously.

"It's a crystal." The Goblin King answered, moving it through his hand like a fushigi ball. "Nothing more. But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams. But this isn't a gift for an ordinary boy who takes care of a bratty sister."

Dib and Zim's breath caught as they both stared at the strange gift in the Goblin King's hand as he held it still.

"Do you want it?" He challenged. "Then forget the girl."

"...I can't." Dib sighed as he looked down.

"Hmm… how 'bout you, Zim?" The Goblin King turned to the alien. "An Irken Invader like yourself would surely love to have something as valuable as this."

Zim had to admit, it was very tempting. But he had long ago learnt to control his temptations to such things, and how to set his priorities with the help of his friends.

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to agree with Dib on this one." He declined. "Please, just give us the Dib-sister and then things can go back to normal."

"Boys."

Zim and Dib watched in shock and horror as the crystal suddenly turned into a snake. The Goblin King stretched it out and held it firmly by head and tail.

"Don't defy me." He ordered before he threw the snake at the boys.

Zim and Dib both squealed with fright as they fought the creature off. They watched it fall to the floor, only to find that it has turned into a harmless scarf. A goblin suddenly popped out from underneath it and gave a strained laugh before running off with the scarf. More goblins behind the boys also laughed before hiding back in their drawers and dressers as the boys dared to try and take a look at them.

"You are no match for me." The Goblin King smiled, grabbing their attention again.

"Enough games Beast-King, we are not playing them anymore!" Zim growled. "NOW TELL THE MIGHTY ZIM AND HIS HUMAN-BEAST FRIEND WHERE THE GAZ-BEAST IS!"

The Goblin King smiled in amusement before turning to the front door and pointing.

"She's there in my castle."

Zim and Dib looked at each other before they walked through the front door. They're breath caught in their throats as they gazed at the castle, and at the labyrinth they will have to go through to get to it.

"Do you still want to look for her?" The Goblin King challenged.

"Is that the castle beyond the Goblin City?" Dib asked.

"Of course it is, Dib, what else would it be?" Zim frowned.

The boys turned around back to the king, and gasped when they saw that the house had disappeared and they were now standing in the middle of nowhere.

"Turn back, boys." The king instructed. "Turn back before it's too late."

"We can't." Dib shook his head. "Can't you understand that we can't?"

"What a pity." The king sighed before walking up to a grandfather clock, pointing at the time. "You have 13 hours in which to solve the labyrinth before your little sister becomes one of us… forever. Such a pity."

And with that, both he and the clock disappeared into the air, leaving behind an astonished Zim and Dib. The boys sighed before looking back at the labyrinth.

"The labyrinth…" Zim gulped.

"It doesn't look too hard." Dib said with confidence. "Well, come on Zim."

Zim gulped before quickly following the human down the hill towards the giant maze.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Zim and Dib reached the bottom of the hill, they were met with a very unlikely surprise.

There was a dwarf there by the labyrinth. He was surrounded by flying creatures, and he held what looked like a bug sprayer.

"Excuse me." Dib called, trying to get the dwarf's attention.

"Oh, excuse me!" The dwarf cried, until he saw who he was talking to. "Oh, it's you."

The boys frowned in confusion at the creature's reaction towards them. Why did this dwarf seem to not exactly like their presence. Dib shook it off as he approached him.

"Can you help us get through this labyrinth?" He asked, but the dwarf ignored him.

"How rude." Zim snorted. "What could be possibly more important than helping two kids through a maze?"

Zim and Dib looked closely at the flying creatures that the dwarf seemed to be disgusted with. They gasped when they realized, that they were fairies.

"Oh, how sweet." Dib breathed quietly.

"Well, you can cross that off your bucket list, huh Dib-human?" Zim chuckled.

"No kidding."

"57!" The dwarf counted as he sprayed his sprayer.

Zim and Dib both gasped when they realized that he was spraying the fairies!

"How could you!" Dib gasped as Zim gently picked up the injured creature.

"Oh, poor thing." Zim frowned as he gently stroked the wings free of the spray.

"You monster!" Dib hissed.

"OW!" Zim suddenly cried out in pain and dropped the fairy.

The dwarf suddenly stopped what he was doing as both he and Dib turned to look at the disguised Irken.

"What happened?" Dib asked.

"The inferior creature BIT me!" Zim hissed. "ME, AN IRKEN INVADER!"

"What?!" Dib gasped. "But why?"

"Well, what did you expect fairies to do?" The dwarf asked them.

"I always thought that they did nice things, like granting wishes." Dib answered.

"Yeah, me too." Zim agreed as he flexed his hand, trying to rid it of the awful pain.

"Hmm, shows what you know." The dwarf huffed as he went back to his job.

"Are you OK?" Dib asked Zim as he took a look at his bitten hand.

"Ah, yeah, I think I'll be OK." Zim nodded.

"58!" The dwarf suddenly grabbed their attention again as he sprayed another fairy.

"Even though these inferior creatures are harmful, you're still horrible for spraying them like that!" Zim hissed as he pulled his hand away and stalked the wrinkly creature.

"No, I'm Hoggle!" The dwarf argued. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dib and this is Zim." Dib answered.

"That's what I thought."

The boys looked at each other, more confused than ever.

"Do you know where the door to the labyrinth is?" Dib asked.

"Maybe." Hoggle answered before spraying another fairy. "59."

"Well, where is it?"

Hoggle ignored the boy's question as he sprayed another fairy.

"60! Whoo!" He cried as he kicked it to the side.

"Hey! Dwarf-creature! The Dib asked you a question!" Zim hissed. "Where is it?!"

"Where's what?" The dwarf asked.

"The door!"

"What door?"

Zim growled and stomped his foot impatiently.

"Enough games! I'm tired of them!" He shouted. "Tell the mighty Zim how to get into the labyrinth NOW!"

Hoggle suddenly stopped and turned around, a pleased look on his face.

"AH! Now, that's more like it." He smiled. "You gets in there."

The boys suddenly jumped when they heard the sound of heavy doors opening. They turned around and gasped when they saw two iron doors that weren't there before.

"You're really going in there, are you?" Hoggle asked them.

"Yes." Zim breathed.

"We don't have a choice." Dib nodded.

With that they both entered the maze. As they entered, they looked around. There were only two paths. A left one and a right one. The only problem was, there was no difference to them whatsoever. The only difference was that the right path was filled with logs and branches, while the left path was completely clear. Not to mention, it was very spooky.

"Cozy, isn't it?" Hoggle startled the two boys, laughing at them as they jumped. "Now, would you go left or right?"

"They both look the same." Zim admitted.

"Well then, you're not going to get very far."

"Which way would you go?" Dib asked the dwarf.

"Me? I wouldn't go either way." Hoggle answered him.

"If that's all you'll say, you can leave." Zim hissed as he continued observing the maze. "Maybe I can figure out which way to go if I use my PAK legs to look over."

"Good thinking Zim, you try that." Dib agreed.

Zim nodded as he activated his PAK legs and lifted himself up, looking around.

"You know what your problem is?" Hoggle huffed. "You take too much for granted."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dib frowned.

"Take this labyrinth for instance." The dwarf continued. "Even if you reach the center, you'll never get out again."

"No good." Zim sighed as he came back down and restored his PAK legs. "I can't make heads or tails of this labyrinth."

"Then I guess we'll have to figure it out ourselves." Dib sighed before turning back to Hoggle. "Thanks for nothing, Hogwart."

"OH! IT'S HOGGLE!" Hoggle hissed. "And don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, Hoggle exited the maze, slamming the doors behind him.

"Well, he seemed friendly." Zim frowned. "What was he saying to you?"

"Just something about taking things for granted and never finding a way out if we do end up getting to the center." Dib told him.

"Well, what does he know? He's just a grumpy old troll who likes harming other creatures."

"You got that right." Dib agreed. "So, which way should we go?"

"Well… I guess we should try going right. " Zim suggested.

"Very well, right then." Dib nodded.

With that, the boys took the right path. As they walked, they stepped over logs and branches. They pushed back weeds and kicked back rocks. Once in awhile, one of them would get rather clumsy and trip, but the other was always there to help them back up onto their feet. All in all, nothing was changing.

"What do they mean 'labyrinth'?" Zim hissed after awhile of nonstop walking. "There aren't any turns or corners or anything. This just goes on and on."

"... No." Dib shook his head. "Maybe it doesn't."

"What are you blabbing about Dib-stink?"

"Think about it Zim. About what the dwarf said. Maybe we're just taking it for granted that it does."

Zim didn't understand what the human meant, but he was really not in the mood to question his antics. He just wanted to get the Dib-sister and leave this place, hoping to never see it again. When Zim did not question, Dib nodded and began to run down the path. Zim blinked and soon followed him.

They kept running like this for a couple more minutes, but they still hadn't come up to any turns. Frustrated, they began pounding on the sides, trying to find somewhat of a hidden opening. Zim had even pulled out a laser and shot at the wall, but whatever this labyrinth was made out of was Irkenproof, for the weapon did no damage at all.

Exhausted, the two sat up against the wall and slid down, sitting on the ground as they tried to catch their breath.

"This is ridiculous." Zim gasped. "A labyrinth should not be this difficult to solve, especially for an Irken Invader."

"For once, I agree with you." Dib nodded. "I think this is the Goblin King's doing."

"He's not playing very fair, is he Dib?"

"Nope."

"'Allo."

The boys jumped at the small greeting. They looked around, but they only saw a strange worm with blue hair, wearing a red scarf.

"Did you just say hello?" Dib frowned.

"No, I said 'allo," The worm shook his head, startling them again. "But that's close enough."

"Forgive my ignorance, but you're a worm, aren't you?" Zim frowned as both he and Dib bent closer to the creature.

"Yeah, that's right."

"By any chance do you know the way through this labyrinth?" The Irken pressed.

"No, I'm just a worm."

"Oh." Both Zim and Dib sighed as they sat back with disappointment.

"Come and meet the missus." The worm offered them.

"No, thank you," Dib sighed. "But we have to solve this labyrinth."

"But there aren't any turns or openings." Zim added. "It just goes on and on!"

"It's full of openings." The worm chuckled. "Just you ain't seein' them."

"Where are they?" Dib asked.

"There's one right in front of you."

Zim and Dib looked ahead, but all they saw was a wall.

"No, there isn't." Zim frowned.

"Come inside and have a nice cup of tea." The worm offered, ignoring Zim's statement.

"But there isn't an opening." Dib frowned.

"Of course there is." The worm nodded. "Try walkin' through it. You'll see what I mean."

Zim and Dib glanced at each other with confusion. They stood up and approached the wall. Hesitant, they turned back to the worm.

"Go on, then." He nodded.

"But there's just a wall. There's no way through." Dib shook his head.

"Things aren't always what they seem, so you can't take anything for granted."

"That's just what the Hog-beast said." Zim gasped. "Dib, I think we should try it."

"Well, I guess we should then, huh?" Dib gulped.

Nervous, the boys held each others hand as they squeezed their eyes shut and stepped forward. When they felt nothing, they opened their eyes and gasped, shocked to see that it really was a hidden opening!

They cried happily as they let go of each others hand like nothing happened. They smiled and began to continue their journey to the direction they were going.

"HEY! HANG ON!" The worm shouted.

"Oh, he's right!" Zim gasped. "We should thank the worm-creature!"

"You're absolutely right, Zim." Dib nodded as they walked back. "Thank you. That was incredibly helpful."

"But don't go that way!" The worm cried.

"What was that?" Zim frowned.

"I said don't go that way." He repeated. "Never go that way."

"Oh. Thanks." The boys cried as they went the opposite direction, not even bothering to ask why they can't go the way they were going to go.

"If they had kept on going down that way, they'd have gone straight to that castle."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Meanwhile, up in the castle, Gaz sat quietly among the center of the throne room, surrounded by loud, obnoxious goblins.

"I swear to God boys, if you do not get here soon, I am going to tear all these creatures apart!" She hissed.

Despite being slightly afraid of her, the goblins still laughed at Gaz's feeble statement. The Goblin King watched on, amused by what happened around him. Suddenly, he stood up and approached.

 _You remind me of the babe._

 _(What babe?)_

 _The babe with the power._

 _(What power?)_

 _The power of voodoo._

 _(Who do?)_

 _You do._

 _(Do what?)_

 _Remind me of the babe._

 __The goblins laughed at the King's statement, not exactly understanding what he was talking about. They thought he was talking about Zim and Dib, until he told them otherwise.

 __"Quiet!" He shouted before pointing to Gaz. "A goblin babe."

"Is that statement meant to be about me?" Gaz hissed. "It'll never happen. I'll never join you."

 __The Goblin King laughed at Gaz's refusal. He looked around when he realized that his subjects were not laughing with him.

"Well?"

The goblins realized what he meant and started laughing with their king.

 _I saw my baby._

 _Crying hard as babe could cry._

 _What could I do?_

 _My baby's love had gone._

 _And left my baby blue!_

 _Nobody knew!_

 _What kind of magic spell to use?_

 _(Slime and snails)_

 _(Or puppy dog's tails)_

 _(Thunder or lightning)_

 _And baby said._

"How about a spell to shut you up?" Gaz hissed.

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Put that baby spell on me._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Put that magic jump on me._

 _(Slap that baby! Make her free!)_

Meanwhile, back in the labyrinth, thanks to the help of the worm, Zim and Dib were able to find more turns and openings. After feeling like going around in circles, Zim suddenly stopped.

"Wait Dib." He gasped.

"What is it Zim?" Dib sighed. "We don't have a lot of time."

"I know, but I have an idea."

Quickly, Zim reached into his PAK and pulled out a laser. He aimed at the ground and burnt an arrow onto the tile, pointing in the direction they were about to go.

"So that we know which way we're going." He explained as he returned the laser to his PAK.

"Zim, you're a genius!" Dib cried excitedly.

"Yes, bathe in the geniousness of ZIM!" The Irken cried before they both ran in the direction the arrow was pointing.

When they were finally out of sight, a couple of smaller goblins came up from underground and flipped the tile over, hiding the mark the boys had made.

"In 9 hours and 23 minutes, you'll be mine!" The Goblin King laughed at the purple haired girl.

"Never!" Gaz growled. "You better watch your back! Zim and Dib will never give up! They WILL find me! They WILL rescue me!"

The goblins laughed with their king as the girl threatened them.

 _I saw my baby._

 _Trying hard as babe could try._

 _What could I do?_

 _My baby's fun had gone._

 _And left my baby blue!_

 _Nobody knew!_

 _What kind of magic spell to use?_

 _(Slime and snails)_

 _(Puppy dog's tails)_

 _(Thunder or lightning)_

 _Then baby said._

"Seriously, do you ever shut up?" Gaz spat.

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Put that baby spell on me._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Put that magic jump on me._

 _(Slap that baby! Make her free!)_

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Dance magic, dance._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Jump magic, jump._

 _Put that baby spell on me._

As the king and the goblins finished their song, Zim and Dib had just made another mark on a tile. They were just about to turn the corner, when a sound stopped them.

"Oh no." The boys said to each other before turning back to the mark they made.

The mark, before, was facing South. Now, it was facing North.

"Someone's been changing our marks!" Dib gasped.

"What a horrible place this is!" Zim screamed. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"That's right. It's not fair." A voice behind them suddenly said.

The boys stood up and turned around. Right where a dead end should be, stood two doors with very strange guards. There was a red door on the left, and a blue door on the right. The doors each had a guard at the top, and at the bottom. The guards laughed at the human and alien's confusion.

"This was a dead end a minute ago." Dib frowned as they approached.

"No, that's the dead end behind you." The guard underneath the red door laughed.

The boys gasped and turned around, quite shocked to see a dead end behind them. The guards laughed at them again.

"IT KEEPS CHANGING!" Zim hissed.

"What are we supposed to do?" Dib sighed.

"The only thing to do is try one of these doors." The guard underneath the red door suggested.

"One of them leads to the castle," The guard under the blue door started. "And the other one leads to..."

"BA BA BA BUM!"

"CERTAIN DEATH!"

"OOH! OOH!" The guards mocked.

"Well, which one is which?" Dib asked.

"We can't tell you." Said the guard under the red door.

"And why not?" Zim challenged.

The two bottom guards looked at each other, unsure of how to answer.

"We don't know." The red guard answered.

"But they do." Said the blue guard as they both looked at the top guards.

"Oh." Dib nodded. "Then we'll ask them."

"Uh...no!" Cried the top blue guard. "You can only ask one of us."

"It's in the rules." Agreed the red guard. "And another thing, one of us always tells the truth, and one of us always lies. He always lies."

"I do not! I tell the truth!" Argued the blue guard.

"Oh, what a lie!"

The bottom guards laughed as the argument above them continued. Frustrated and slightly annoyed, Dib suddenly got an idea.

"Wait Zim, I have an idea." He said to the alien before approaching the red guard.

"All right. Answer yes or no." He demanded him. "Would he tell us that this door leads to the castle?"

Zim was confused about where Dib was going with this. As the guards debated, he too, went over the riddle.

"Yes." The red guard finally answered.

"Then the other door leads to the castle, and this door leads to certain death." Dib nodded.

Now this was really confusing! The guards, as well as Zim, were very confused by Dib's statement.

"How do you know?" The red guard challenged. "He could be telling the truth."

"But then you wouldn't be," Dib argued back. "So if you said he said yes, the answer is no."

"But what if I could be telling the truth?!"

"Then he'd be lying. So the answer would still be no."

"Wait a minute." The red guard frowned before turning to the blue guard. "Is that right?"

"I don't know. I've never understood it."

"No, it's right." Dib nodded. "Zim, back me up here!"

"Just a minute Dib-smell!" Zim growled. "I'm going over the riddle myself just to make sure that your theory is correct. Remember, we're only allowed one question each, and since there's two of us, if you're wrong, then I need to make sure that we get it right."

Frustrated about not being trusted, Dib stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for the Irken's answer. After a single minute, Zim gasped and looked up at the human.

"Jumping chili beans Dib, you're right!" He gasped.

"I told you!" Dib laughed. "Come on!"

"I don't believe it!" Zim laughed as he followed his human frenemy. "Just by walking through this blue door, we'll be able to get to Gaz ahead of time!"

"Yeah! I think this labyrinth is making us smarter." Dib exclaimed as he opened the door. "This is a piece of cake!"

But just as Dib stepped through the door, a panel underneath him opened up and he fell into the darkness.

"DIB!" Zim cried as he watched the human fall.

His cries, however, fell short as he too, fell down.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As the two boys fell, creepy grey hands reached out all around them, trying to grab them. The boys screamed as the hands were finally able to grab them.

"HELP!" They cried.

"What do you mean 'help'?" Exclaimed a hand face." "We are helping."

"We're Helping Hands." Explained another hand face.

"You're hurting us!" Dib struggled.

"Yeah!" Zim agreed.

"Would you like us to let go?" Asked another face.

Upon that statement, the hands released the boys and they began to fall again.

"NO!" They cried, relieved as the hands caught them again.

"Well, which way?" Asked a face.

"Which way?" The boys repeated, confused.

"Up or down?" Another face elaborated.

"Oh." The boys nodded, understanding now.

"Come on, come on."

"We haven't got all day."

"Well, it's a big decision for them."

"Which way do you want to go?"

"Yes, which way?"

"Well…" Zim started. "Since it seems that we're pointed that way, I guess we should go down. What do you think Dib?"

"Yeah, I agree." Dib nodded. "Take us down please."

"They chose down!" Mocked one of the hand faces.

"They chose down?" Another face laughed.

"Was that wrong?!" The boys gasped as they started falling at super high speed.

"Too late now!" Another face laughed.

After just a few seconds of falling, the boys were suddenly sent into a dark, black hole. They looked up, only to see a steel grate shut itself on them.

Up in the castle, the Goblin King, along with Gaz and all the goblins, were looking through a crystal orb, watching the two boys.

"They're in the oubliette." The king explained.

Gaz gasped, but the goblins laughed at the boys misfortune.

"SHUT UP!" The king ordered them, silencing them immediately. "They should have given up by now."

"They'll never give up." A goblin shook its head.

"The dwarf will lead them back to the beginning." The Goblin King explained with a devious smile. "They'll give up when they realize they have to start all over again."

Gaz gasped as the king and the goblins laughed. She backed away and looked out the window, towards the labyrinth.

"Don't give up, boys." She whispered. "I believe in you."

Back in the oubliette, Zim and Dib were looking around, trying to figure out what to do next, when they suddenly heard footsteps.

"Who's there?" They demanded.

"Me." Said a voice as the person lit a lantern, revealing to be Hoggle.

"Oh, it's you." Zim growled, not exactly happy to see the dwarf.

"Oh, yes, well… I knew you were going to get into trouble, so I've come to give you a hand." He explained.

The two boys huffed and looked around, trying to see if there was a way out without needing the rude creature's help.

"Oh, you're looking around." Hoggle chuckled. "I suppose you've noticed there ain't no doors, only the hole. This is an oubliette. The labyrinth's full of them."

"I didn't know that." Dib shook his head.

"Me either." Zim agreed. "Uh… what is an oubliette anyway?"

"You don't even know what an oubliette is?" Hoggle scoffed.

"Do you?" Zim challenged.

"Yes. It's a place you put people to forget about them." The dwarf answered. "What you've got to do is get out of here. I know a shortcut out of the labyrinth."

"NO!" Dib cried. "We're not giving up now! We've come too far!"

"Yeah Hog-smell!" Zim agreed. "We're doing just fine without you!"

"Of course you are." Hoggle mock agreed. "But it gets a lot worse from here on in."

"Why are you so concerned about us?" Dib questioned.

"Uh...what?" The dwarf was suddenly caught off guard. "Well, I am, that's all. Two nice young boys, lost in the labyrinth, trapped in a terrible black oubliette. With a human sister in danger, and an Irken mission in jeopardy."

"You like jewelry, don't you?" Zim stared him down.

"Why?" Hoggle stared back.

"If you help us solve the labyrinth, I'll give you this."

Suddenly, Zim reached underneath his glove and pulled out a bracelet. It was made out of blue beads and string. There were charms of a heart, a robot, and a dog.

"Where did you get that?" Dib gasped at the sight of it.

"It's a friendship bracelet Gir made for me." Zim explained as he played with it in his hands. "I don't mind parting with it. I can always have Gir make me another. Besides… I like making friendship bracelets with him."

Zim looked back at the dwarf, who had not taken his eyes off the bracelet even once.

"You like it, don't you?"

"UH…" Hoggle shook his head as Zim started speaking to him again. "So?"

"OH. OK." Zim shrugged as he started putting it back on. "I guess you don't need it then. After all this bracelet IS special to me."

"Uh, how about this." Hoggle stalled. "You give me the bracelet, and I'll show you the way out of the labyrinth."

"You were going to do that anyway!" Dib hissed, not feeling that it was right that the dwarf was taking something special from someone, even his enemy, to do something the creature was already going to do.

"Well, that's what would make it a particularly nice gesture."

"Take us as far as you can, and then we'll do it on our own." Zim commanded as he handed the dwarf his bracelet.

"What is that, anyway?" Hoggle asked suspiciously.

"Plastic." Zim gulped, nervous that the dwarf wasn't going to take it now, but sighed in relief when he took it without a second thought.

"OOHHH!" He awed as he studied the bracelet. "I don't promise nothing, but I'll take you as far as I can. Then you're on your own, right?"

"Right."

Hoggle nodded as he put on the bracelet and walked up to the oubliette's wall. The boys watched him as he picked up what looked like a door handle, and placed it on the right side of an outline on the wall. They watched, astonished, as the dwarf opened a magical door, but it turned out to be a room filled with brooms.

"OH! Damn broom closet!" He cursed as he closed the door and switched the handle. "Well, can't be right all the time."

Hoggle switched the place of the doorknob and opened the door again. This time, it led straight into a corridor, filled with giant rock heads.

"AH! This is it." He smiled as he and the boys entered. "Come on then, this way."

"Don't go on." A rockface suddenly said to them, making the boys jump.

"Go back while you still can." Warned another.

"This is not the way!" Cried a third.

"Take heed, and go no further."

"BEWARE! BEWARE!"

"Soon it will be too late."

"Uh, are you sure we're supposed to be down here?" Dib asked.

"Y-yeah, Hog-beast, I must say, even I'm a bit frightened." Zim admitted.

"Oh, don't be scared, just ignore them. They're just false alarms." Hoggle explained. "You get a lot of them in the labyrinth, especially when you're on the right track."

"Oh, no, you're not!" Argued another rockface.

"Oh, shut up!" The dwarf scolded.

"Sorry. Just doing my job."

"Well you don't need to do it to us."

"Beware, for the…"

"Just forget it!"

"Oh, please," The final rockface begged. "I haven't said it for such a long time."

"Oh, alright." Hoggle sighed as he and the boys stopped in front of him. "But don't expect a big reaction."

"No, no, no, of course not." The rockface cleared his throat. "For the path you take will lead to certain destruction!"

Zim and Dib snickered upon this. It was just so funny about the way the rockface announced the warning.

"Thank you very much." The rockface smiled upon being able to humor the boys.

Suddenly, a crystal ball rolled through the corridor. The human, alien, and dwarf followed it, watching it jump into the cup of an old beggar.

"AH. What have we here?" He asked.

"AH, nothing." Hoggle stammered.

"Nothing? Nothing? Nothing tra la la?!" The beggar growled as he stood up, ripping off his cloak to reveal the Goblin King.

"Your majesty!" Hoggle, Zim, and Dib gasped. "What a nice surprise!"

"Hello, Hedgewart." The king nodded.

"Hogwart." Zim and Dib corrected.

"Hoggle." The dwarf growled.

"Hoggle, are you helping these boys?" The king challenged.

"H-H-Helping?" Hoggle stammered. "In what sense?"

"In the sense of leading them towards the castle."

"I was taking them back to the beginning."

"WHAT?!" The boys gasped, feeling betrayed.

"I told them I would help them." Hoggle continued. "A little trickery on my part. But actually…"

"What is that plastic thing around your wrist?" The Goblin King asked, seeing Zim's bracelet for the first time.

Hoggle stalled on answering him, trying to hide the bracelet behind his back, but, he knew it was no use.

"Oh, this!" He exclaimed as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh, my goodness, where did this come from?"

"If I thought for one second you were betraying me, I'd be forced to suspend you headfirst in the Bog Of Eternal Stench."

"No, your majesty!" Hoggle begged, grovelling at the king's feet. "Not the eternal stench!"

"Oh, yes, Hoggle!" The king hissed, kicking him off before turning to the boys. "And you, Zim and Dib. How are you enjoying my labyrinth?"

"...It's a piece of cake." Dib answered.

"Mmhmm." Zim nodded in agreement.

"OHH…" Hoggle groaned, placing a hand to his forehead.

"Really?" The king snickered. "Then how about upping the stakes?"

With that, the king turned to a clock that appeared out of nowhere and started moving time forward. Zim and Dib gasped upon seeing this, unable to believe what was happening.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" They both whined.

"You two say that so often." The king smirked. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

The Goblin King smirked and walked to the middle of the corridor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crystal orb.

"The labyrinth's a piece of cake?" He smiled to the boys. "Let's see you deal with this slice."

With that, he took the orb and threw it down the hall and disappeared into thin air like last time. A moment later, a large, threatening drill started coming down the hall, descending on Hoggle and the boys.

"Oh, no, the cleaners!" Hoggle cried out in fear.

"WHAT?!" The boys cried.

"RUN!"

Following Hoggle, the boys and the dwarf began running down the hall, trying to escape the giant, frightening drill. They kept running and running, until they came to a grated dead end.

"Guys quick! This way!" Dib pointed to a loose wall.

Zim and Hoggle nodded and the three of them started pushing on the wall, trying to knock it down as the drill came closer.

"OH! The cleaners, the Bog Of Stench…" Hoggle whimpered. "You two sure got his attention!"

"Wait guys! I have an idea!" Zim shouted. "Stand back!"

As soon as Dib and Hoggle stepped away, the Irken wasted no time. He quickly whipped out his laser and shot at the wall, causing it to crumble immediately. The three of them then jumped into the open room, the drill just barely grazing them. They sat up and looked back out into the hall, watching the drill obliterate the grated dead end as it continued it's job of "cleaning".

They sighed and sat back, trying to catch their breath. Hoggle looked around the room, and found a ladder leading to the surface.

"AHH!" He exclaimed with a smile. "This is what we need, a ladder. Follow me."

"We can't trust you." Zim hissed. "You were taking us back to the beginning."

"I wasn't." Hoggle shook his head as he started climbing the ladder. "I told him that to throw him off the scent."

"How can we believe anything you say?" Dib frowned.

"Let me put it this way. What choice have you got?"

Zim and Dib looked at each other as they realized, that Hoggle was right. They don't have a choice.

"You're right." Dib sighed as he climbed up after the dwarf.

"What choice do we have?" Zim agreed as he too, started climbing.

"See, you've got to understand my position." Hoggle continued. "I'm a coward, and Jareth scares me."

"Jareth, huh? So that's his name." Zim smirked. "Well, at least now we don't have to keep calling him 'majesty' or 'king'."

Dib and Hoggle snickered at Zim's comment, totally agreeing with him.

"So, what kind of position is that?" Dib asked Hoggle.

"No position. That's my point." Hoggle answered. "You wouldn't be so brave if you'd ever smelt the Bog Of Eternal Stench. It's, it's, it's… AAH! YUH!"

"Is that all it does is smell?" Dib frowned.

"Believe me, that's enough." The dwarf nodded. "But the worst thing is, if you put a foot in the Bog Of Stench, you'll smell bad the rest of your life. It'll never wash off."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Something went wrong with the font as I was writing the rest of these chapters. Some words will be full capitalized for no reason. I would like it if you could just ignore those mistakes, and enjoy the story.**

Chapter 6

After a few more minutes of climbing, they finally reached the surface. Hoggle lifted up his arm and pushed the lid off of the vase they were about to climb out of.

"AHH!" He smiled as they all climbed out. "Here we are, then. You're on your own from now on."

"WHAT?!" The boys gasped angrily.

"That's it. I quit."

"Now wait just a minute." Zim hissed.

"Hoggle!" Dib cried in agreement.

"I said I'd take you as far as I could."

"You little cheat!" Zim growled. "You nasty little cheat! I gave you my bracelet for this!"

"Yeah!" Dib agreed.

"Now, don't try to embarrass me." Hoggle rolled his eyes. "I've got no pride."

"Oh, yeah?" Dib smirked before he snatched Hoggle's satchel of jewels.

"But them's my jewels!" Hoggle complained as Zim giggled and started playing keep away with Dib, height having the advantage. "Oh, you, give them back! Give them back! Give those back! Oh, give those back to me!"

"Now." Dib stated, looking towards the castle as he held the jewels. "There's the castle. Which way should we try?"

"Them's my rightful property!" Hoggle hissed. "It's not fair!"

"No, it isn't…" The boys agreed, before they suddenly realized something. "...But that's the way it is."

Suddenly, a sound behind them was heard. They turned around to see an old man with a chicken hat, slowly walking to his chair. The boys looked at each other before approaching the man, Hoggle tagging along.

"Excuse me, please," Dib spoke. "But can you help us?"

"Oh! Two young boys!" The Wiseman gasped.

"WHOO WHOO WHOO!" Exclaimed the hat, startling the boys.

"And who is this?" The Wiseman asked as he noticed Hoggle.

"A friend." Dib answered.

"Yeah." Zim nodded.

"Oh." The Wiseman nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"We must get to the castle, at the center of the labyrinth." Dib explained. "Do you know the way?"

"Ah."

"Ah." The hat mocked.

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

"Oh, yes, huh." The Wiseman nodded. "You want to get to the castle?"

"How's that for brainpower, huh?" The hat teased.

"Be quiet!" The Wiseman scolded.

"Aw, nuts."

"So, young man," The Wiseman continued to Zim and Dib. "The way forward is sometimes the way back."

"AYE!" The hat rolled his eyes. "Will you listen to this crap!"

"Will you please be quiet!"

"Alright."

"OK?"

"OK."

"Alright."

"Alright. Sorry."

"Finished?" The Wiseman asked.

"Yes." The hat answered.

The Wiseman nodded before continuing to the young human and Irken.

"Quite often, young man, it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when, in fact…"

"We are." The hat replied.

"We are." The Wiseman agreed.

"Yeah well, we're not getting anywhere at the moment." Zim sighed as he crossed his arms.

"HA! Join the club!" The hat laughed.

A snore from the Wiseman suddenly alerted everyone that he had fallen asleep. The hat chuckled before looking back up at the boys.

"I, uh, I think that's your lot." He nodded. "Please leave a contribution in the little box."

"Don't you dare!" Hoggle growled, thinking that Dib was gonna give one of his jewels. "Them's mine."

"Well, let me see what else I've got." Zim offered as he started searching through his pockets and his PAK.

"No Zim," Dib shook his head. "You already gave Hoggle your bracelet, it's my turn to give up something."

"Well, what could you give?" Zim asked curiously.

"Well, I guess I can spare this." Dib shrugged as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a red orb.

"What is that?" Zim asked as he watched Dib examine it with his fingers.

"It's a ring that the Swollen Eyeball gave me." Dib explained. "The orb is supposed to turn blue when there are ghosts around. But… it's never worked."

"Typical Dib-human." Zim chuckled.

Dib chuckled as well as he dropped the ring into the box.

"Gracias, senor." Replied the hat as the three friends started walking away.

"You didn't have to give him that." Hoggle said to Dib as they walked away. "He didn't tell you nothing."

"Charity, Hog-beast." Zim nodded to the dwarf. "Even Irkens know about that."

"Well, well, then. There go a couple of suckers." The hat snickered, then rolled his eyes when the Wiseman snored again. "AH! It's so stimulating being your hat."

Back with Zim, Dib, and Hoggle, the dwarf quickly approached the two boys, having a question that he would really much like to have an answer to.

"Why did you say I was your friend?" He asked.

"Because you are." Dib answered. "You're not much of a friend, but you're the only friend we've got."

Hoggle hummed to himself as he thought about what it would be like to finally have a friend for once, even two friends. He smiled to himself, liking the idea.

Suddenly, Zim's antenna twitched underneath his wig as he heard a faint sound through the labyrinth. It sounded like…. shouting and roaring, with the occasional snap of a jaw.

"Do you guys hear something?" He asked the others.

"No," Dib shook his head. "Why, do you hear something?"

"I can't tell, it's too faint." Zim shook his head.

"Well, take off the stupid wig then." Hoggle huffed. "You don't exactly need to be in disguise around here."

"Oh, yeah, right." Zim blushed sheepishly as he removed his wig and contact lenses, allowing his antennae to pop up and his ruby eyes to gleam. "There, much better."

"Frankly, I prefer your normal look anyway." Dib smiled.

Zim smiled back, blushing a little bit at the compliment, before he heard the sound again.

"There it is again!"

Everybody stayed silent as they all tried to listen. Zim's antenna twitched into a direction.

"It sounds like it's coming from beyond that corner."

Curious, the three of them slowly approached the corner. They were about to turn it when suddenly….

"YEEIAAHH!"

"OH! Good-bye!" Hoggle shivered as he started to run away.

"Wait a minute!" Dib cried as he grabbed Hoggle's arm. "You can't back out on us just yet!"

"Yeah Hog-beast!" Zim agreed as he too grabbed onto the dwarf's arm. "Are you our friend or not?"

"NO! HOGGLE AIN'T NO ONE'S FRIEND. HE LOOKS AFTER HIMSELF, LIKE EVERYONE."

With one final wrench, Hoggle pulled himself away from the boys and ran away.

"HOGGLE IS HOGGLE'S FRIEND." He shouted back as he turned down the corner, disappearing from sight.

"HOGGLE!" Dib cried.

"You insolent coward!" Zim hissed.

"AAARGHH!"

"Well, we're not afraid, right Dib?" Zim nodded to Dib.

"That's right, Zim." Dib nodded. "Things aren't always what they seem in this place."

With a nod to each other, the boys ran down the corner towards the roars. Upon approaching a corner, they gasped when they saw a behemoth beast, hanging by his leg, as goblins in armor used strange biting creatures on their spears to harm the big creature.

"Oh how horrible!" Zim frowned in disgust.

"If we only had something to throw…" Dib agreed.

"EEOOWW!" The behemoth cried in pain as he continued to be bit.

Suddenly, Zim looked down, and was surprised to see a pretty good sized rock at their feet.

"Where did this come from?" He wondered aloud as he picked up the rock.

"Who cares, just throw it." Dib ordered.

Zim shrugged and threw the rock at the nearest Goblin. CLANK! Went the helmet as the rock knocked it out of place.

"OH! What happened? Who turned out the lights?" The Goblin cried. "I can't see."

Upon being blinded by his helmet, the Goblin stumbled around the area, biting his comrades and knocking their own helmets out of place. The behemoth roared again, and another rock suddenly rolled by the boys feet.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that the behemoth is controlling the rocks." Dib chuckled as he picked up the rock.

"Oh, be quiet and just throw it." Zim rolled his eyes.

Dib nodded and threw the rock. CLANK! Went another helmet.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Cried a goblin.

"RETREAT!" Ordered another.

Under the impression of being under attack, the goblins ran away, leaving their victim behind to hang.

"Yeah! Alright!" The boys laughed as they high fived each other.

"We sure showed them, right Dib?" Zim smiled.

"We sure did." Dib laughed. "Now come on, let's go get that guy down."

"Yeah." Zim nodded.

With that, the two of them approached the behemoth. But, whenever either one of them tried to get close to him, the creature started yelping and struggling.

"Now, stop that!" Zim demanded.

"YARRGH! Hmm?" The behemoth made a confused noise.

"Is that any way to treat someone who's trying to help you?" Zim huffed, crossing his arms in disapproval. "Especially an Irken Invader?"

"Hhrrr…" The beast only became more confused.

"DON'T YOU WANT us TO HELP YOU DOWN?" Dib asked politely as he and Zim turned their heads upside down to look at the beast properly.

"LUDO… DOWN." The behemoth whimpered.

"LUDO?" Dib smiled. "IS THAT YOUR NAME?"

"LUDO." The beast nodded.

"OH, YOU SEEM LIKE SUCH A NICE BEAST." Dib smiled, petting Ludo's fur.

"WELL, I CERTAINLY HOPE YOU ARE WHAT YOU SEEM TO BE." Zim said as he moved to the base of the tree to untie the rope.

"AH. AH!" LUDO whimpered unsurely.

"JUST HANG ON. I'LL GET YOU DOWN." Zim promised as he began untying.

"JUST A SECOND." Dib added.

Suddenly, the rope slipped from Zim's hands and Ludo fell to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete floor.

"Oh no!" Dib gasped.

"OH, I'M so SORRY!" Zim cried as the two boys ran up to the behemoth.

The two boys ran up to the monster and helped him sit up. Ludo shook his head, trying to clear his dizzy mind.

"LUDO, ARE YOU HURT?" Dib gasped.

"I'm so sorry Ludo." Zim hung his head. "This is all my fault."

Ludo ignored the questions and apologies, looking at the boys in curiousity.

"FRIENDs?" He questioned.

"THAT'S RIGHT, LUDO." Dib nodded. "I'M Dib and this is Zim."

"Dib. Zim." Ludo repeated as he tried standing up.

"OH, HERE, LET us HELP YOU." Zim offered as he and Dib rushed to help.

"YOU OK?" Dib asked when the behemoth was standing.

"Dib. Zim." Ludo smiled at the boys. "Dib and Zim FRIENDs. YEAH!"

Ludo was so excited to have new friends that he attempted to give them both a hug, but the boys wanted to asked him a question first.

"NOW, WAIT. JUST A SECOND." Dib stopped him. "I WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING, LUDO."

"HUH? WHAT?"

"DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO THE CASTLE AT THE CENTER OF THE LABYRINTH?" Zim asked.

"HMM. AH… UH!" Ludo thought before looking at the human and Irken. "NO."

"YOU DON'T KNOW, EITHER?" Dib sighed.

"I'm starting to WONDER IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO GET THROUGH THIS LABYRINTH." Zim sighed.

Back with Hoggle, unknowing to the boys, the dwarf was navigating through the labyrinth without any problems, all while criticizing the boys.

"GET THROUGH THE LABYRINTH? GET THROUGH THE LABYRINTH?" He scoffed. "ONE THING'S FOR SURE, they'LL NEVER GET THROUGH THE LABYRINTH."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Back with Zim, Dib, and Ludo, the three were standing around the area, trying to figure what to do next, when Zim suddenly noticed a pair of doors in the corner.

"HEY." He frowned. "WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?"

"What?" Dib asked him.

"Those doors over there." Zim answered as he walked over to them, being followed by the other two.

"How peculiar." Dib frowned as he studied them.

The doors seemed pretty normal, the knockers however, did not. The left door knocker had a chubby face with the ring in it's ears. The right door knocker had a pretty ugly face with the ring in it's mouth.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK, LUDO?" Dib asked the behemoth. "WHICH SHOULD WE CHOOSE OUT OF THESE TWO UGLY CHARACTERS?"

Ludo was thinking about which door they should go through, when suddenly, the knocker on the left started talking.

"IT'S VERY RUDE TO STARE!" It snarled.

"Jumping chili beans!" Zim jumped, startled by the talking door knocker. "We were JUST WONDERING WHICH DOOR TO CHOOSE."

"HS DF ASA PST." The other knocker tried to speak, but couldn't with the ring in his mouth.

"DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" The first knocker scolded.

"I'M NT TLKG WTH MY MTH FLL!"

"Hold on, we CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU." Zim frowned. "Here, let me take that out for you."

"WHAT WERE YOU SAYING?" The first knocker asked.

Zim rolled his eyes and ignored the first knocker, pulling the ring out of the mouth of the second knocker.

"AH! IT IS SO GOOD TO GET THAT THING OUT!" The knocker sighed.

"WHAT WERE YOU SAYING?" Zim asked him.

"IT'S NO GOOD TALKING TO HIM. HE'S DEAF AS A POST." The knocker answered.

"MUMBLE, MUMBLE. YOU'RE A WONDERFUL CONVERSATIONAL COMPANION." The first knocker rolled his eyes.

"You're one to talk, ALL YOU DO IS MOAN." The second knocker laughed with a comeback.

"NO GOOD. CAN'T HEAR YOU."

"WHERE DO THESE DOORS LEAD?" Dib asked.

"WHAT?" The first knocker called.

"SEARCH ME." The second knocker mentally shrugged. "WE'RE JUST THE KNOCKERS."

"Well, HOW DO we GET THROUGH?" Zim asked.

"HUH?"

"KNOCK, AND THE DOOR WILL OPEN." The knocker answered.

"OH." Zim smiled, looking around for the ring, which he had given to Ludo.

"Uh, Zim." Dib chuckled, getting the Irken's attention.

Zim looked up and looked to where Dib was pointing. He laughed when he saw the ring in Ludo's mouth.

"HUH?" Ludo shrugged.

"Ludo." The boys shook their heads in amusement as Zim took the ring back.

"Here." He said as he attempted to give the knocker his ring back.

"Uh-uh! I DON'T WANT THAT BACK IN MY MOUTH." The knocker refused.

"But, we WAnna KNOCK." Zim frowned, dropping his antennae back.

"DOESN'T WANT HIS RING BACK IN HIS mOUTH, EH?" The first knocker laughed. "CAN'T SAY I BLAME HIM."

"What do we do?" Zim asked the human beside him.

Dib frowned and studied the knocker. He smiled when he saw that the knocker was breathing through his nose in order to keep his mouth closed.

"Don't worry," He smiled as he took the ring. "I've got this."

With that, Dib grabbed the nose and held it, pressing the ring up to the mouth of the knocker, waiting for the magic to happen. The knocker held his breath as long as he could, before finally giving up and opening his mouth to breath, giving Dib the chance to shove the ring in.

"Brilliant!" Zim jumped joyfully as Dib knocked on the door, Ludo agreeing.

"SORRY." Dib apologized to the knocker.

"THAT'S ALL RIGHT. I'M USED TO IT." The knocker sighed as the door opened.

"COME ON, guys." Dib said to the other two as the three of them entered the forest on the other side.

Once all three of them were in, the door slammed close behind them. Shivers ran down the spines of our three heroes. There was something off about this forest.

Back at the castle, Jareth was giving Gaz some food, but the girl was refusing to eat whatever the king was giving her, afraid that if she took anything he offered, she would turn into a goblin, despite the deal he made with Zim and Dib.

"Come now, princess, you should eat something." Jareth insisted.

"Err, I'm not taking anything from you, you jackass!" Gaz hissed, smacking the food out of his hands. "And if you ever call me princess again, I'll scratch your eyes out."

At this, the goblins laughed. The Goblin King frowned at the stubbornness of the girl. She really believed that those two idiots would save her, despite their fight earlier. Such a hopeful girl when she wanted to be.

Back with Zim, Dib, and Ludo, the three were walking cautiously through the forest, looking out for any kind of danger. Ludo shivered and walked closer to the boys.

"LUDO SCARED." He admitted.

"OH," Dib frowned, feeling sorry for the big behemoth. "Here, GIVE ME YOUR HAND."

"Oh COME ON." Zim rolled his eyes as Ludo took Dib's hand.

"What, are you saying you're not scared too?" Dib frowned.

"Of course I'm scared, but I don't need somebody to hold my hand." Zim hissed, turning away and stalking away, ignoring the two scaredy cats.

Of course he was scared, but he was an Irken Invader. He wasn't going to turn soft like the two behind him.

"Just ignore him Ludo." Dib told the monster. "IMAGINE A BIG THING LIKE YOU BEING SCARED."

"YEAH." Ludo agreed.

"SEE, LUDO," Zim pointed out, pushing a bunch of ferns aside to show nothing but a normal forest. "THERE'S NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF."

"Zim, stop it!" Dib hissed, letting go of Ludo's hand to approach the Irken.

"What?" Zim wondered. "I'm just showing him that there's nothing to be afraid of."

"That's not the point Zim. There's something not right about this forest, and you know it." Dib sighed. "Let's just get out of here and find Gaz."

"Fine." Zim rolled his eyes.

But, when Zim and Dib looked over to where Ludo was supposed to be, they were shocked to realize, that he was gone!

"Ludo?!" They gasped.

Back with Hoggle, the dwarf scoffed as he heard the two boys calling for a character he's never heard of.

"BLAH!" He scoffed as he continued walking away, until he heard his name being called.

"HOGGLE, HELP!"

"I'M COMING, boys!" He gasped before turning to run back.

"WELL, IF IT ISN'T YOU." Jareth was suddenly standing behind the dwarf, stopping him from leaving. "AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"UH, WELL," The dwarf stuttered. "THE boys GAVE ME THE SLIP, BUT I HEAR them NOW, SO I WAS ABOUT TO LEAD them BACK TO THE BEGINNING LIKE YOU TOLD ME."

"I SEE." Jareth nodded, not believing a word Hoggle was saying. "FOR ONE MOMENT, I THOUGHT YOU WERE RUNNING TO HELP them. BUT, UH, NO. NOT AFTER MY WARNINGS. THAT WOULD BE STUPID."

"YOU BET IT WOULD!" Hoggle laughed with agreement. "ME? HELP them? AFTER YOUR WARNINGS? HA HA HA!"

Suddenly, Jareth was in Hoggle's face, stopping the dwarf immediately.

"OH, DEAR." He sighed. "POOR HOGHEAD."

"HOGGLE." Hoggle corrected.

"I'VE JUST NOTICED YOUR LOVELY JEWELS ARE MISSING."

"UH, OH, YES!" Hoggle pretended. "SO THEY ARE. MY LOVELY JEWELS, MISSING. I'D BETTER FIND THEM. But FIRST, I'M OFF TO TAKE THE boys TO THE BEGINNING OF THE LABYRINTH."

"WAIT!" Jareth stopped him again. "I'VE GOT A MUCH BETTER PLAN. GIVE them THIS."

With that, he pulled out another crystal and threw it to the dwarf. But, when he caught it, it had turned into a peach.

"W-WHAT IS IT?" He asked.

"IT'S A PRESENT." The king answered plainly.

"WILL IT HURT them?"

"NOW, WHY THE CONCERN?" Jareth frowned.

"I WON'T HARM them." Hoggle crossed his arms, turning away.

"COME, HOGBRAIN! I'M SURPRISED AT YOU," Jareth gasped. "LOSING YOUR HEAD OVER A couple of boys."

"I AIN'T LOST MY HEAD." Hoggle backfired.

"YOU DON'T THINK A couple of young boys COULD LIKE A REPULSIVE LITTLE SCAB LIKE YOU, DO YOU?" Jareth insulted.

"WELL, they SAID WE WAS…"

"WHAT? BOSOM COMPANIONS? FRIENDS?" The Goblin King challenged. "Don't you know anything about Irkens, Hoggle?! Irkens don't have friends! And besides, why would they need you when they already have each other?"

"AHH. DON'T MATTER." Hoggle sighed sadly.

"YOU'LL GIVE them THAT, HOGGLE, OR I'LL TIP YOU STRAIGHT INTO THE BOG OF ETERNAL STENCH!"

"YES. RIGHT." Hoggle sighed, turning away to find the boys.

"AND, HOGGLE," Jareth stopped him one last time. "IF they EVER show you any kind of affection, I'LL TURN YOU INTO A PRINCE."

"Y-YOU WILL?" Hoggle was hopeful.

"PRINCE OF THE LAND OF STENCH!" The king laughed as he walked away, leaving a very depressed Hoggle the dwarf.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Back with Zim and Dib, the two were still trying to find their behemoth friend.

"Ludo! Where are you?!" Dib called.

"I don't understand." Zim scratched his head in thought. "How does a giant behemoth like him just disappear?!"

"I told you that there was something wrong with this forest!" Dib hissed, smacking the alien upside the head.

"Well don't blame me! How was I supposed to know that he was going to disappear?!" Zim hissed back.

Suddenly, the two heard something strange in the forest. It sounded like… tapping?

"What's going on?" Dib frowned.

"I have no idea, Dib-stink." Zim shook his head.

Suddenly, five strange orange creatures jumped out of the forest at the boys. Zim and Dib were shocked to see these kind of creatures, but not as shocked as Dib himself.

"Fireys!" He gasped.

"What?" Zim frowned at the human.

"They're fireys. Creatures of the forest." Dib explained. "They like to play around, and have a talent for removing body parts. Their own body parts."

"Well, what do they want?" Zim wondered.

"We're just out to have a good time." One of the fireys laughed.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Another nodded.

"YEAH! WHOO!" A third jumped.

Suddenly, a fourth firey scraped his hand against the ground, creating fire in his hand. Zim and Dib watched with astonishment as the firey threw the ball of fire to the ground, creating a campfire.

"Did I forget to mention that fireys can create fire?" Dib smiled sheepishly.

"Yep." Zim nodded as he watched the crazy orange creatures.

 _DON'T HAVE NO PROBLEMS._

 _(NO PROBLEMS)_

 _AIN'T GOT NO SUITCASe._

 _(NO SUITCASE)_

 _AIN'T GOT NO CLOTHES TO WORRY ABOUT._

 _(No clothes to worry about.)_

 _AIN'T GOT NO REAL ESTATE._

 _OR JEWELRY OR GOLD MINES TO HANG ME UP._

 _I JUST THROW IN MY HAND._

 _(THROW IN HIS HAND)_

 _WITH THE CHILLIEST BUNCH IN THE LAND._

 _(In the land)_

 _THEY DON'T LOOK MUCH._

 _BUT THEY'RE SURE CHILLY CHILLY._

 _THEY'RE POSITIVELY GLOW GLOW, HUH._

 _CHILLY DOWN WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 _THINK SMALL WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 _BAD HEP WITH THE WILD GANG!_

"Like my mom said, DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD." One of the fireys laughed.

 _WHEN YOUR THING GETS WILd!_

 _CHILLY DOWN, CHILLY DOWN WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 __"HEY, I'M A WILD CHILD!" One of the fireys laughed.

 _WALK TALL WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 __"WHOO! WALK TALL!" Exclaimed another firey as he was able to stretch up his legs to be taller.

 _GOOD TIMES, BAD FOOD!_

 _WHEN YOUR THING GETS WILD CHILLY DOWN, CHILLY DOWN!_

"YEAH!" A firey cried excitedly as he suddenly took out his eyeballs, startling the boys a bit.

"ROLL 'EM!" Another firey encouraged as a third firey joined them.

Zim and Dib looked at each other, unsure of what to do. The two finally just shrugged before walking up to the fireys playing with the eyeballs.

"Uh, go ahead. Roll them, I guess." Zim shrugged.

The fireys laughed as the eyeless firey picked up his eyeballs and rolled them.

"SNAKE EYES!" The fireys cried excitedly as the eyes stopped rolling.

Suddenly, the eyeless firey picked up his eyeballs and threw them into his mouth, swallowing them whole.

"No no no! Don't do that!" Zim gasped.

"Relax, Zim." Dib calmed the alien. "Look."

Zim looked back at the firey that had just swallowed his own eyes, and was a little embarrassed, but amazed to see that the firey had his eyes back.

"Gotcha!" The firey laughed, the others joining him.

Zim couldn't help but laugh a little as well. He should've known. What kind of creature would just swallow their own eyes without knowing the consequences?

Suddenly, another firey threw up his head and tossed it to another firey, who bounced it up and down like a basketball before the head bit him, causing the boys to laugh. The firey threw the head to another firey, who bounced his own head up before tossing it to the boys, who caught the head together and then threw it to the final firey, having a good time. The fifth firey took off his leg and took aim behind the head.

"FORE!" He called before hitting the head with his leg, pretending to be a golfer.

"Whoa! Look out!" Dib laughed as he ducked below the flying head.

The human and the alien watched with excitement as the head landed back on it's rightful owner, the fireys laughing at how much fun everybody was having.

 _SO WHEN THINGS GET TOO ROUGH._

 _(Get too rough.)_

 _YOUR SKIN IS DRAGGING ON THE GROUND._

 _(On the ground)_

 _AND EVEN DOWN LOOKS Up._

 _(DOWN LOOK Up)_

 _BAD LUCK._

 _WE CAN SHOW YOU A GOOD TIME._

 _(SHOW YOU A GOOD TIME)_

 _AND WE DON'T CHARGE NOTHIN'._

 _(NOTHIN' AT ALL)_

 _JUST STRUT YOUR NASTY STUFF._

 _WIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE, YEAH._

 _GET THE TOWN TALKING, BY GOD._

 _CHILLY DOWN WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 _THINK SMALL._

 _THINK SMALL WITH THE WILD GANG!_

 _BAD HEP._

 _BAD HEP, HAPPY WILD GANG!_

"HEY, LISTEN UP!" A firey called to the boys, who were all of a sudden dancing to the music.

 _WHEN YOUR THING GETS WILD, CHILLY DOWN, CHILLY DOWN._

 _WITH THE WILD GANG!_

"SHAKE YOUR PRETTY LITTLE HEADs." A firey said to the boys, who did exactly that.

"TAP YOUR PRETTY LITTLE FEET." Another firey said to them.

The boys laughed and tapped their feet. They were having so much fun that they actually started dancing with the fireys.

 _GOOD TIMES, BAD FOOD!_

"COME ON, COME ON!" A firey cried before one of them suddenly tried to take off the boys heads.

"Whoa whoa! Hold on a minute!" Dib laughed. "What are you guys doing?"

"HEY!" The firey cried out. "Their HEADs DON'T COME OFF!"

"OF COURSE IT DOESN'T!" Zim laughed. "Our heads aren't meant to come off like you guys."

"WHERE YOU GOING WITH A HEAD LIKE THAT?" One of the fireys asked.

"Well, unlike you guys that don't really need all of your parts to stay alive, the Dib and I do." Zim explained. "Our bodies can't come apart like you guys, or else we'd be goners."

"Seriously, when was the last time you guys actually saw other creatures in the forest?" Dib asked.

"Oh, it's been quite awhile." One of the fireys answered. "But we've never seen a creature that couldn't live without their heads. Are you sure you can't do that?"

"Yeah, we're pretty sure." Dib nodded.

"Well, that's too bad. Being able to take off your head is fun."

"I have no doubt about that." Zim laughed. "But as much fun as this has been, the Dib and I are actually on a mission."

"What mission?" Asked one of the fireys.

"Oh," Dib exclaimed, hoping that this was an opportunity to get some help. "Well, we're trying to get to the center of the labyrinth to save my sister."

"You trying to get to the center of the labyrinth, you've gotta get out of this forest first." The firey laughed.

"Well, how do we get out then?" Zim asked.

"You're gonna wanna go that way." The firey answered, pointing down a direction through the forest.

"Thanks." The boys thanked the fireys before leaving them.

"See ya later boys!" The fireys called out before going back to having a good time.

"That was actually kinda fun." Zim admitted when they were out of sight of the fireys.

"Yeah, but I can't help feel that we might've lost some time because of that." Dib frowned. "Who knows how long we were distracted for."

"You're right, Dib," Zim nodded. "We shouldn't have gotten distracted like that. Man, those fireys sure know how to pull someone into a little fun."

"Even if they don't want it." Dib nodded. "Come on, let's hurry out of this forest."

"Agreed."

And so, the two ran as fast as they could in the direction the firey had pointed, trying to get out of the forest as fast as they could.

Suddenly, to their dismay, they came to a dead end, a giant wall blocking their path.

"Great! That firey led us to a dead end!" Zim hissed.

"Now, don't get discouraged." Dib assured. "He wouldn't have directed us this way if there wasn't a way out."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Zim sighed. "Come on, let's look around."

"That's the spirit." Dib nodded.

With that, the two of them began looking around the area, trying to find anyway above the wall.

"Wait a minute." Dib frowned, turning back to the Irken. "What about your PAK legs? Can't you use them to lift us up above the wall?"

"I would, but…" Zim blushed, looking down.

"But what?" Dib asked. "Zim… what happened?"

"Well… you remember when we fell into that oubliette?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well… I kinda… might've… landed on my PAK."

"Which means?"

"... The PAK legs are busted." Zim sighed. "I can't get them out."

"Have you even tried?" Dib asked.

"Yes Dib, of course I have!" Zim hissed. "I tried right when we came to this wall, but I can't get them out, and every time I try, it hurts me, but I try to ignore the pain to try harder! Look!"

Dib watched bewildered as Zim tried to activate his PAK legs. He could hear metal and machinery scraping against each other, but the legs just weren't coming out. Dib's jaw dropped when the alien started to cry a little, obviously feeling a lot of pain on his back.

"Ok, ok! Zim, stop!"

Zim stopped trying and relaxed, wiping the tears away from his face. Dib frowned and approached the Irken. When he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around him and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry." He whispered. "When we get out of this, I'll help you fix your PAK."

Zim blushed before he smiled, wrapping his own arms around the human and hugging back.

"Thanks Dib."

Suddenly, they heard a whistle above them. They looked up the wall, and were delighted to see Hoggle standing there with a ladder.

"HOGGLE!" They cried, letting go of each other. "YOU'VE COME TO HELP us!"

"Quick! Climb up!" The dwarf ordered.

Not needing a second invitation, Zim and Dib both grabbed onto the ladder and began climbing. When they got to the top, they ran up to Hoggle and gave him a big hug.

"NO! DON'T HUG ME! DON'T HUG ME!"

But it was too late. Suddenly, the floor opened up underneath our heroes and they fell through. They screamed as they slid, having no idea of where they were going. They came up to a hole and slid out, falling over a ledge. Hoggle reached out and successfully grabbed a branch that was hanging out of the wall, grabbing Dib, who in turn grabbed Zim.

They held on as tight as they could as they pulled themselves back onto the ledge, pressing their backs against the wall. A foul stench lingered in the air, making the three want to gag. They were in some kind of swamp or bog, the human and Irken didn't really know which. Bubbles bursted on the surface of the green slime, along came the sounds of passing gas.

"UH! WHAT IS IT?" Zim gagged.

"THE BOG OF ETERNAL STENCH." Hoggle answered.

"I'VE NEVER SMELT ANYTHING LIKE IT." Dib coughed, covering his nose. "IT'S LIKE... LIKE…"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT'S LIKE." Hoggle hissed. "IT'S THE BOG OF ETERNAL STENCH."

Suddenly, the ledge broke underneath Hoggle's feet and he began to fall. Zim and Dib quickly reached out to him and grabbed his hand.

"HELP!" The dwarf cried out.

"HOLD ON!" The boys called as they pulled him back up.

When Hoggle was back on the ledge with them, they continued inching their way through the bog. Hoggle growled and huffed back at the boys.

"WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND DO A THING LIKE THAT FOR?" He hissed at them.

"DO WHAT?" Dib frowned back. "YOU MEAN RESCUE YOU?"

"WHAT? NO!" Hoggle rolled his eyes. "YOU hugged ME."

The ledge broke off underneath them again, almost causing them to fall, but luckily, they were able to find their footing again.

"DON'T PRETEND TO BE SO HARD." Zim rolled his eyes. "We KNOW YOU CAME BACK TO HELP us, AND we KNOW YOU'RE our FRIEND."

"DID NOT! AM NOT!" Hoggle hissed. "I'VE JUST COME TO GET ME PROPERTY BACK. OH, AND, UH… UH, GIVE YOU, GIVE YOU, UH…"

"GIVE us WHAT?" Dib raised an eyebrow.

But before the dwarf could answer, the ledge broke off again, this time, our heroes couldn't stop themselves from falling. They screamed as they fell, until they landed on something big and furry. Zim and Dib stood up on the little island they landed on and looked back up at what they hit. They were delighted when they saw Ludo sitting behind them.

"Ludo!" They cried in delight, hugging the behemoth they missed so much.

"Zim. Dib." Ludo smiled back, allowing the human and Irken to hug him.

"But wait a minute!" Zim gasped, letting go and looking around. "Where's Hoggle?!"

The three friends looked around, trying to find the dwarf, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"You don't think he fell in the bog, do you?" Dib gasped, looking into the slime.

"Oh I hope not." Zim whimpered, looking over as well.

Suddenly, there was a muffled noise behind them. The two boys looked back at Ludo, and were surprised to see feet sticking out from underneath the behemoth.

"Ludo you're sitting on him!" They gasped, running up to their friend.

Quickly, they helped the behemoth stand up, quickly getting off of Hoggle, allowing the dwarf to crawl out and stand up. When he turned around, he yelped when he saw Ludo standing with them.

"IT'S OK. THIS IS LUDO." Dib introduced the behemoth. "HE'S A FRIEND, TOO."

"A WHAT?" Hoggle frowned.

"SMELL." Ludo suddenly interrupted.

"OH, YOU'RE RIGHT." Zim gagged, pulling his antennae. "I feel sorry for myself. I smell with my antennae!"

"Would putting your wig back on block the smell?" Dib tried to help.

"I wish." Zim shook his head. "Thanks for trying to help anyway. But I think I might've found a way out of here. Look!"

The others looked over to where the Irken was pointing and gasped at what they saw.

"THERE'S A BRIDGE. COME ON."

And so, the four friends cautiously made their way through the bog, being extra careful not to step in the slime.

"WATCH IT." Hoggle warned when Zim almost tripped. "YOU STEP IN THIS STUFF, AND YOU'LL STINK FOREVER."

The four of them had finally reached the bridge. They were about to cross over, when suddenly, a strange furry creature that kinda resembled a fox jumped in front of them.

"STOP!" He demanded. "STOP, I SAY!"

"WE HAVE TO GET ACROSS." Dib exclaimed.

"WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, NO ONE MAY CROSS." The fox frowned.

"Please, we DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME." Zim begged.

"WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS STENCH." Hoggle coughed.

"SMELL BAD!" Ludo groaned.

"STENCH? OF WHAT SPEAKETH THOU?" The fox wondered.

"THE SMELL." Zim answered, pulling on his antennae again to try and block the smell of the bog.

"I SMELL NOTHING." The fox shook his head. "I LIVE BY MY SENSE OF SMELL."

The four watched bewildered as the fox sniffed the air as if he was in a field of flowers. It was obvious this creature has gone noseblind.

"THE AIR IS SWEET AND FRAGRANT, AND NONE MAY PASS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

"SMELL BAD!" Ludo disagreed.

"OH, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Hoggle hissed as he pushed the fox aside, only to have the creature swipe at him with his staff.

"I'M SWORN TO DO MY DUTY!" He exclaimed.

"LET US GET ACROSS." Zim demanded.

"HOLD!" The fox creature swiped at the Irken. "I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"

When the fox was distracted, Hoggle pushed past him and quickly ran over the bridge, disappearing into the forest on the other side.

"HOGGLE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Zim and Dib cried to the dwarf, trying to follow him, only to have the fox push them back again.

Suddenly, Ludo grabbed onto the fox's staff, trying to take it away from the creature.

"LET GO OF MY STAFF!" The creature demanded, to which Ludo complied and dropped the fox.

The fox growled and stood back up, rubbing his nose. The fox growled and jumped onto Ludo's back.

"ALRIGHT, THEN. I CAN CONQUER THIS MOUNTAIN." He challenged as he began beating Ludo with his staff.

Ludo growled and tried to fight back, but the fox was too quick for him. Ludo finally threw the fox off of him and picked up a large log, attempting to crush the creature.

"THOU MUST DO BETTER THAN THAT!" The fox laughed as he dodged.

Ludo growled and swung again, but once again, the creature ducked.

"GIVE UP? HA HA!" The fox mocked.

Ludo snarled before he swung one last time, crushing a tree tunnel just as the fox ran in.

There was silence. The fox was nowhere to be seen. Zim, Dib, and Ludo were sure that he was dead, until…

"ENOUGH!" The fox exclaimed as he emerged from a tree hole, staring at Ludo.

"NEVER HAVE I MET MY MATCH IN BATTLE, YET THIS NOBLE kNIGHT HAS FOUGHT ME TO A STANDSTILL!"

"Great job, Ludo." Zim praised.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, LUDO?" Dib asked.

"SMELL." The behemoth complained again.

"SIR LUDO, I, SIR DIDYMUS, YIELD TO THEE." The fox bowed. "COME, LET US BE BROTHERS HENCEFORTH AND FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT AS ONE!"

Zim and Dib gasped in delight at these news. If this Sir Didymus was considering Ludo a brother, surely he would let them cross the bridge now. Ludo smiled and lifted Didymus out of the tree, gently setting him back down on the ground.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH." Didymus nodded when he was back on the ground.

"LUDO GET BROTHER." Ludo smiled.

"WELL MET, SIR LUDO."

"GOOD. Now let's get out of here." Zim suggested.

.  
"YOU FORGET MY SACRED VOW, young Irken." Didymus frowned. "I CANNOT LET YOU PASS."

"BUT you said that LUDO IS YOUR BROTHER now." Dib frowned.

"I MUST DEFEND MY OATH TO THE DEATH." Didymus shook his head.

"THE SMELL!" Ludo whined.

"Hold on, LET'S HANDLE THIS LOGICALLY." Zim suggested before looking at the fox. "WHAT EXACTLY HAVE YOU SWORN?"

"I HAVE SWORN WITH MY LIFEBLOOD, NO ONE SHALL PASS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION."

Zim and Dib frowned at each other. That was it? Zim shrugged and looked back at the fox.

"WELL… MAY WE HAVE YOUR PERMISSION?" He politely asked.

"WELL, I, UH…" Sir Didymus stuttered. "UH… YES."

"THANK YOU." The boys nodded.

"Young boys." Sir Didymus took off his hat and bowed, gesturing for the two to cross the bridge.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The human and the Irken cautiously stepped onto the bridge and began to slowly cross, watching their step. When they got to the middle, it began to wobble a bit.

"UH-OH." They quivered, holding onto each other a bit.

"HAVE NO FEAR. THIS BRIDGE HAS LASTED FOR 1,000 YEARS." Sir Didymus assured as he hit the stones with his staff.

Suddenly, the bridge broke apart, falling into the slime underneath the boys. The two cried out as they reached up and grabbed an overhanging branch, hanging on for dear life so they wouldn't fall into the bog.

"IT SEEMED SOLID ENOUGH." Didymus frowned.

Suddenly, Hoggle came back, wanting to know what was taking the others so long to catch up.

"HOGGLE!" The boys cried, grabbing his attention.

"Oh no!" Hoggle gasped when he saw them. "Hold on!"

"FAIR boys, I WILL SAVE THEE…" Didymus promised. "SOMEHOW."

Suddenly, Ludo howled to the sky. A bone chilling howl that the boys were sure they heard the behemoth do before.

"CANST THOU SIT AND HOWL WHEN YON boys NEED OUR HELP?" Didymus scolded.

Ludo ignored the fox and howled again. Suddenly, a large boulder rolled down the path and into the bog, stopping right underneath the boys and settling. The boys released the branch they were holding and landed on the boulder, wondering where it came from in the first place. Ludo howled once more and more boulders emerged from the bog, creating a path of stepping stones.

"THAT'S INCREDIBLE, LUDO." Dib complimented.

"See, I knew he could control rocks!" Zim laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I said that, Zim." Dib frowned.

"Oh shut up and just walk."

Dib rolled his eyes and the two of them walked across the boulders, stepping off onto the other side of the bog, joining Hoggle.

"Thank goodness you're safe." The dwarf nodded to them.

"Sir Ludo, CANST THOU SUMMON UP THE VERY ROCKS?" Didymus gasped.

"SURE." Ludo nodded as he began crossing the boulders. "ROCKS FRIENDS."

"SIR LUDO, WAIT FOR ME!" The fox called before turning back to the tree. "OH, AMBROSIOUS!"

Upon the call, a green dog with big eyes, black ears, black paws, and a black tail emerged from behind the tree.

"IT'S ALRIGHT, AMBROSIOUS. YOU CAN COME OUT NOW."

Upon the command, the dog fully padded over to his master, stopping right next to the fox. Zim and Dib frowned at the dog, as if he looked familiar.

"Ah, MY LOYAL STEED." Didymus smiled as he mounted the green canine and rode him over the boulders.

"Hey Zim, doesn't that dog look familiar?" Dib asked the Irken.

"Yeah," Zim agreed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Ambrosious is actually Gir."

"Gir? Who is Gir?" Didymus asked.

"He's my robot dog." Zim answered. "He looks just like your dog."

"Well, green bloodhounds are actually a pretty rare breed." Didymus shrugged. "But they are extremely loyal. I congratulate you for finding such a loyal and unique companion."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that there really ARE green dogs?!" Dib gasped.

"Ha! I win Dib!" Zim mock laughed. "I'm perfectly normal because green dogs are completely normal."

"Zim, you don't really need to pretend to be normal here, we're all friends." Dib smiled in amusement

Zim blinked and blushed, turning away with a sheepish smile.

"Well, whatever." He shrugged. "LET'S just GET OUT OF HERE."

"Agreed." Dib nodded.

With that, everyone began walking again through the forest. Hoggle held back for a moment, approaching the edge of the bog. He held his hand over the slime. In his hand, was the peach that the Goblin King had given' him. He was about to drop it, when the voice of the king stopped him.

"I WOULDN'T DO THAT IF I WERE YOU." It warned.

"Oh, I can't do it." The dwarf sighed. "I CAN'T GIVE IT TO them."

Hoggle sighed before he put the peach back in his pocket and caught up with the others.

"WELL, COME ON, THEN. WE SHOULD REACH THE CASTLE WELL BEFORE DAY." Sir Didymus promised as they continued their journey.

Meanwhile, back in the castle, Jareth was watching the group through a crystal ball, while Gaz sat seething in front of him.

"LOOK, boys." He teased, looking at Gaz. "IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO FIND?"

"Of course they're trying to find me. And I know them both. They're not gonna give up." Gaz hissed.

"SO MUCH TROUBLE OVER SUCH A bratty THING," Jareth smirked. "BUT NOT FOR LONG."

"What are you talking about?" Gaz raised an eyebrow, unsquinting one of her eyes.

"They'LL SOON FORGET ALL ABOUT YOU, MY FINE princess. JUST AS SOON AS HOGGLE GIVES them MY PRESENT, THEN they'LL FORGET EVERYTHING."

"BLASPHEMY!" Gaz spat. "They'll never forget. They wouldn't do me like that! Especially my own brother."

"We'll see." Jareth smiled smugly.

Back in the forest, the group continued forth to the castle. Suddenly, there was a low rumbling.

"IS THAT MY STOMACH OR YOURS, AMBROSIOUS?" Sir Didymus asked the green canine.

"HUNGRY." Ludo groaned.

"I must admit, I'm getting a bit peckish myself." Zim agreed.

"YEAH." Dib nodded. "WELL, WE CAN'T STOP NOW. MAYBE WE CAN FIND SOME BERRIES, or something."

Hoggle gulped. This was his chance to do the king's deed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the peach.

"UH, boys." He called for their attention.

"YEAH?" They turned to him.

"HERE." He offered.

"HOGGLE!" They gasped as Dib took the peach.

"OH, THANK YOU. YOU'RE A LIFESAVER!" The human exclaimed as he peeled the fruit in half, handing one half to the Irken. "Here Zim, can you eat this?"

"Irkens live on sugars, of course I can eat this." Zim chuckled as he took the fruit half.

Dib laughed too and they both took a bite of the peach. They chewed and swallowed, but they did not go for another bite.

"THIS TASTES STRANGE." Dib frowned, wobbling a bit.

Hoggle whimpered guiltily, causing Zim to notice that he had done something.

"HOGGLE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" The Irken challenged, wobbling as well.

"OH, DAMN YOU, JARETH!" Hoggle cursed, running away. "AND DAMN ME, TOO!"

Zim and Dib payed no attention, sitting down against a tree, their eyes wide like they were high.

"EVERYTHING'S DANCING." Dib blinked.

"Just, sit down Dib-worm." Zim suggested. "Maybe it'll just wear off soon."

"I hope you're right." Dib nodded as a bubble floated near them.

Meanwhile, back with Ludo and Sir Didymus, they had finally just reached the end of the forest, and could see the castle clearly.

"WHOA, AMBROSIOUS!" Didymus pulled in his dog. "THE CASTLE DOTH LIE YONDER, boys."

When Sir Didymus did not hear a response, he and Ludo looked around, surprised to see that Zim and Dib were not with them.

"Boys?" Didymus called. "Boys?"

Suddenly, a bubble floated near them, an illusion of a party floating inside. Upon closer inspection, you could see Zim and Dib standing inside, surrounded by people with strange masks on.

"Where are we?" Zim asked, looking around at all the strange people.

"We're at some kind of Masquerade party or something." Dib answered.

"What are we doing here?" Zim frowned.

"I think we were invited." Dib answered.

"But I don't remember getting an invitation to some Mask party."

"Me either." Dib admitted. "Well, we're here now, might as well have some fun."

"I don't know, Dib." Zim frowned. "I feel like we were supposed to be doing something. And it doesn't have anything to do with this party."

"Oh really?" Dib raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"I… I don't know." Zim frowned. "I can't remember."

"Well then, it must've have been that important."

"... Yeah, I guess you're right." Zim smiled.

"Come on, let's look around." Dib suggested.

"Alright Dib-worm." Zim agreed as they both walked around the party, mingling with all the other guests.

As they mingled, the Goblin King watched them from a distance, a black mask over his own face.

THERE'S SUCH A SAD LOVE

DEEP IN YOUR EYES

A KIND OF PALE JEWEL

OPENED AND CLOSED WITHIN YOUR EYES

I'LL PLACE THE SKY

WITHIN YOUR EYES

THERE'S SUCH A FOOLED HEART

BEATING SO FAST

IN SEARCH OF NEW DREAMS

A LOVE THAT WILL LAST

WITHIN YOUR HEART

I'LL PLACE THE MOON

WITHIN YOUR HEART

AS THE PAIN SWEEPS THROUGH

MAKES NO SENSE FOR YOU

EVERY THRILL HAS GONE

WASN'T TOO MUCH FUN AT ALL

BUT I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

As the Goblin King watched the human and the Irken, he got a mischievous thought, smiling at his own idea.

AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN

(IT'S FALLING)

IT'S FALLING DOWN

FALLING IN LOVE

I'LL PAINT YOU MORNINGS OF GOLD

I'LL SPIN YOU VALENTINE EVENINGS

THOUGH WE'RE STRANGERS TILL NOW

WE'RE CHOOSING A PATH

BETWEEN THE STARS

I'LL LAY MY LOVE

BETWEEN THE STARS

Cautiously, Jareth went over behind the two boys, and then swiftly pushed them into each other. Zim and Dib looked at each other, their eyes wide and their cheeks red.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do, until they both smiled, and started dancing together.

AS THE PAIN SWEEPS THROUGH

MAKES NO SENSE FOR YOU

EVERY THRILL HAS GONE

WASN'T TOO MUCH FUN AT ALL

BUT I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN

Suddenly, Dib started to feel strange. A bell rung from somewhere, snapping the human to his senses.

"Zim, something isn't right." He frowned.

"What do you mean Dib?" Zim asked, lifting his head up from having it laying on the human's chest. "What's the matter?"

"Something just feels wrong."

"... You mean… us?" Zim sighed sadly.

"What?" Dib frowned, looking back at the Irken.

"I guess I should've known." Zim closed his eyes and sighed, stepping away from Dib. "We're enemies. We're not supposed to love each other."

"What? No, Zim, it's not that!" Dib shook his head. "It's not that at all."

"Don't try to make me feel better Dib." Zim sniffed, turning away. "You said you felt wrong, I understand."

Dib frowned and took the Irken's hand. He pulled him to his face, cupping his cheeks, and placing a kiss on his lips.

Zim's eyes widened in surprise. His human enemy was actually KISSING him! Zim's eyes fluttered close and he kissed back, a warm sensation filling his body.

"Do you believe me now?" Dib asked when they pulled apart.

"... Yes." Zim smiled and placed his head back on the human's chest. "Yes I do."

Suddenly, another ring of a bell snapped the two out of their thoughts. They looked around and found a gold clock hanging on a wall, with the hand on the thirteen hour mark.

"Dib, I think I know what you mean now." Zim gasped, looking back at the human. "I think this is an illusion! This isn't a real party!"

"We need to get out of here!" Dib agreed.

Quickly, the two ran to the edge of the bubble. They pounded on the glass of the crystal bubble, but it would not break. Suddenly, Dib picked up a chair and threw it at the wall, breaking the glass.

They held on tight to each other as they were sucked out of the illusion, and they fell to an unknown world below.

(IT'S FALLING)

AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN

(IT'S FALLING)

(IT'S FALLING)

(IT'S FALLING)

(IT'S FALLING)

FALLING IN LOVE

(IT'S FALLING)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Hoggle sat alone in a type of junkyard place, a fire burning in front of him. He sat there, feeling guilty for what he had done.

"OH, they'LL NEVER FORGIVE ME." He sighed. "WHAT HAVE I DONE? I'VE LOST MY ONLY FRIENDs, THAT'S WHAT I'VE DONE." 

Meanwhile, back with Zim and Dib, the two have landed in the same junkyard after escaping the crystal, but now, they had no idea what to do, or what they WERE doing.

"WHAT were we DOING?" Dib frowned. 

"I don't remember." Zim answered, looking around. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Dib looked around. "Come on, let's see if there's a way out of here."

"Ok." Zim nodded as both he and Dib stood up.

As Zim stood up, he unintentionally placed his hand on a pile of junk and pushed down on it to stand up.

"OW!" The pile yelped, startling the boys. "GET OFF MY BACK!"

The pile stood and turned around to reveal a woman with a bunch of junk on her back. She was probably a collector.

"WHY DON'T YOU LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOUNG MeN, HMM?" She hissed.

"We WERE LOOKING." Zim frowned, looking around the area.

"HUH? WHERE WERE YOU GOING?" The woman asked.

"We DON'T REMEMBER." Dib sighed.

"Well, YOU CAN'T LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING."

"We Were, SEARCHING, FOR SOMETHING." Zim could just barely remember.

"WELL, LOOK HERE!" The woman chuckled, holding up a brown book.

Dib took the book and looked at the cover. The title was written in gold cursive, and upon inspection, the boys saw the book was Labyrinth, the play they were supposed to be practicing for.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR, WASN'T IT, MY DEARs?" The woman chuckled. "NOW, WHY DON'T YOU COME IN HERE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU LIKE."

The human and the Irken looked at each other. They were pretty sure that the book was not what they were looking for, but they couldn't remember anyway, so they shrugged, and followed the woman. 

As the boys followed the junkwoman, they tripped and knocked themselves unconscious. A few moments later, they both woke up in Dib's room, face to face on the human's bed.

"Ahh!" They both cried out jumping away from each other.

"Are you ok?" Dib asked.

"Yeah, are you ok?" Zim asked back.

"I think so." Dib frowned. "Did we just…"

"What? Have the same dream?"

"Yeah, have the same dream."

"I think so." Zim sighed with relief. "Thank goodness it was only a dream."

"Yeah." Dib nodded. "Come on. Let's see if my dad is home yet, then we can take you home."

"Thanks." Zim smiled. 

With that, the boys went over to Dib's bedroom door and the human went to open the door. But, just as soon as Dib turned the handle, they were given a startled surprise when the junklady opened the door and walked in, revealing the junk land outside.

"BETTER TO STAY IN HERE, DEARs." She suggested as she closed the door. "THERE'S NOTHING YOU WANT OUT THERE. NO, OH, NO!"

"Dib." Zim shivered, hanging onto the human.

"Now don't panic, Zim." Dib assured. "Just stay calm."

"Come, come boys, relax." The junklady assured. "Here, sit down, the two of you, and let's see what we got in here."

The boys gulped and sat back on the bed, holding onto each other.

They watched as the woman went around the room, grabbing random objects and giving them to the boys. They both accepted the objects without question, but they wondered about what their so-called-dream was about.

"THERE WAS SOMETHING we Were LOOKING FOR." Zim frowned.

"AH, DON'T TALK NONSENSE." The woman shook her head. "EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD YOU'VE both EVER CARED ABOUT IS ALL RIGHT HERE."

But the boys were not so sure. Cautiously, Dib pulled up the book they were given before and opened to a page.

"THROUGH DANGERS UNTOLD AND HARDSHIPS UNNUMBERED, I HAVE FOUGHT MY WAY HERE TO THE CASTLE BEYOND THE GOBLIN CITY, TO TAKE BACK THE CHILD YOU HAve STOLEN." The human read.

"Why do I have a feeling that has something to do with us?" Zim frowned.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, my dear?" The junkwoman asked Dib. "DON'T YOU LIKE YOUR things?"

"IT'S ALL JUNK." Both boys hissed.

"HUH? WELL, WHAT ABOUT THIS?" The woman challenged, picking up a pair of Alien Sleepcuffs for Dib and a ray gun for Zim. "THIS IS NOT JUNK. HMM?"

"YES, IT IS!" Both Zim and Dib shouted before throwing the given objects away. "We HAVE TO SAVE Gaz!"

Upon finally remembering what their mission was, the junkwoman disappeared and the room that the boys were in began to crumble, falling around the boys. As the room broke apart, a hole appeared in a corner, and the boys could hear the voices of Sir Didymus and Ludo on the other side.

"Boys!" Sir Didymus shouted. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Zim? Dib?" Ludo cried.

"Boys!"

"Zim? Dib?"

With all the effort the boys had, Zim and Dib crawled out of the hole in the crumbling room and reunited with their friends.

"FAIR boys, THANK GOODNESS THOU ART SAFE AT LAST!" Didymus sighed with relief when both the human and the Irken were standing upright.

"Zim and Dib back." Ludo smiled happily.

"WHERE ARE WE?" Dib asked, looking around.

"Still in the junk land." Zim answered, looking around as well.

"Young boys, LOOK! WE'RE ALMOST THERE." Didymus pointed to the castle that was fully in view. "THE GATES TO THE GOBLIN CITY."

"Incredible!" Zim gasped excitedly.

"Zim, LUDO, SIR DIDYMUS. LET'S GO QUICKLY. WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME." Dib suggested.

"You're right, Dib." Zim nodded. "Come on guys. Let's go get Gaz back!"

"AMBROSIOUS, FORWARD!" Sir Didymus commanded his green canine as they all heading for the gates to the city.

When they finally reached the gates, they noticed that a guard was sleeping by the doors. Zim and Dib were trying to figure out how they were going to get in the city without waking the guard, when Sir Didymus started banging on the door.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" The fox shouted, hitting his staff on the door.

"SHH! SIR DIDYMUS, WE MUST GO QUIETLY." Dib warned.

"OPEN UP! OPEN UP RIGHT NOW!"

"Quiet! YOU'LL WAKE THE GUARD." Zim hissed.

"WELL, LET THEM ALL WAKE UP!" Didymus barked. "I SHALL FIGHT YOU ALL TO THE DEATH!"

"PLEASE, SIR DIDYMUS," The boys begged. "FOR our SAKE, HUSH!"

"BUT OF COURSE. FOR THEE, ANYTHING." Didymus nodded. "But, I'M NOT A COWARD?"

"NO, of course not." Zim agreed.

"THEN I SHALL FIGHT ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE, ANYTIME!" Didymus challenged.

"WE ALL KNOW." Dib nodded as he quietly opened the door. "NOW HUSH, QUIETLY."

"AMBROSIOUS, BE QUIET NOW." Didymus ordered his dog as they all walked through the gate. "I DON'T SEE WHY WE HAVE TO BE SO QUIET, though. IT'S ONLY A GOBLIN CITY."

As the gates closed behind them, Zim's antennae started to twitch.

"I SMELL TROUBLE." The Irken frowned.

"What, you mean you can smell things like a dog?" Dib frowned.

"What? No." Zim frowned. "It's just an expression. I mean I feel vibrations in the air, and it doesn't feel good."

"What? Where?" Dib gasped.

"... Right in front of us!" Zim gasped as the walls suddenly closed and trapped them.

Another door opened and a giant robot walked up to them.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Dib gasped.

"WHO GOES?" The robot bellowed.

The group watched in horror as the robot turned and picked up a giant axe.

"WHO GOES?" It said again, turning to the group with the axe.

The group slowly backed away, afraid of what the robot might do with that axe.

"WHO GOES?" The robot said for a third time before swinging the axe at our heroes.

"WATCH OUT!" Zim gasped as they all ducked.

Startled, Ambrosius suddenly reared, neighing like a horse and throwing Sir Didymus off.

"AMBROSIOUS!" Didymus scolded as the green dog ran away, hiding behind a stone.

"DUCK!" Dib cried as the robot swung the axe again.

"WILL YOU COME HERE!" Didymus continued to yell at the dog. "AMBROSIOUS, COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Ambrosious shivered and shook his head, his black ears swinging from side to side.

"PLEASE COME. YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME." Didymus rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, Zim's antennae twitched again. He looked up towards the disturbance and gasped at what he saw.

"HOGGLE!" He shouted, pointing at the top of the wall.

Dib and Ludo looked up at the wall and gasped when they saw the dwarf jump off the wall and onto the robot. He kicked off the head and it clattered to the ground, revealing a small goblin controlling the robot.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" Hoggle hissed, picking up the goblin and throwing him overboard. "BOMBS AWAY!"

"BLAAH!" The goblin groaned when he hit the ground. "THAT WASN'T VERY NICE."

Ludo growled at the goblin, causing it to look up at him. Upon seeing the behemoth, the goblin screamed and ran away.

"MY TURN NOW!" Hoggle smirked as he sat in the driver seat. "HOW DO YOU DRIVE THIS?"

"DROP THE AXE!" Zim called up to the dwarf.

"I'M TRYING!" Hoggle called back. "OH, WHERE'S REVERSE?"

Hoggle pulled a lever and the whole thing exploded.

"GET OUT OF THERE, HOGGLE!" Dib called.

"ABANDON SHIP!" The dwarf cried as he jumped off the robot, the whole thing breaking down.

"HOGGLE!" The boys gasped when they saw him hit face first on the ground.

They quickly ran up to the dwarf and helped him sit up.

"HOGGLE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Dib asked.

Hoggle ignored the human's question and sighed.

"I'M NOT ASKING TO BE FORGIVEN. I AIN'T ASHAMED OF MYSELF." He explained. "JARETH MADE ME GIVE YOU THAT PEACH."

Zim and Dib gasped, suddenly remembering what happened before they lost their memory. So that's why the peach tasted so strange.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK. I TOLD YOU I WAS A COWARD, and I AIN'T INTERESTED IN BEING FRIENDS."

"We FORGIVE YOU, HOGGLE." Zim assured.

"YOU… YOU DO?" Hoggle blinked in surprise.

"AND I COMMEND YOU." Sir Didymus nodded, finally having Ambrosious by his side. "RARELY HAVE I SEEN SUCH COURAGE. YOU ARE VALIANT, SIR HOGGLE."

"I AM?"

"HOGGLE AND LUDO FRIENDS." Ludo smiled to the dwarf.

"WE ARE?"

"HERE ARE YOUR THINGS, HOGGLE." Dib smiled as he gave the dwarf his jewels. "THANKS FOR YOUR HELP."

Hoggle took the satchel of jewels from the human and stared. He smiled, feeling a boost of confidence in his system, and stood up.

"WELL, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?" He laughed. "LET'S GET THAT RAT WHO CALLS HIMSELF JARETH."

"You mean you're still going to come with us?" Zim gasped.

"Yes, Zim." Hoggle nodded. "I'm tired of being afraid of that girlish man. I'm ready to stand up to him. Now let's go get him!"

"RIGHT!" The boys nodded.

With that, our group of heroes continued forth, into the city of the goblins.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Up in the castle, Jareth was sitting on his throne, watching Gaz, who had eventually fallen asleep. They were both disturbed, however, when a goblin guard suddenly ran into the room, panicked.

"YOUR HIGHNESS! YOUR HIGHNESS!" The goblin shouted in a panicked voice. "YOUR HIGHNESS, THE human! The Irken!"

"What?" Jareth frowned, confused.

"THE human and the Irken WHO ATE THE PEACH AND FORGOT EVERYTHING!"

"WHAT OF them?"

"They, THE MONSTER, SIR DIDYMUS, AND THE DWARF have made it past the gates!"

"What?!" Jareth gasped, standing up to attention.

"They'RE ON THEir WAY TO THE CASTLE!"

"See! I told you they wouldn't give up on me!" Gaz cried excitedly.

"STOP them! CALL OUT THE GUARDS. Take the girl and hide her." The Goblin King ordered.

"Stop! Let me go!" Gaz shouted, struggling against the goblins. "You can't do this! They won fair and square!"

"Not until they actually find you." Jareth hissed at the girl.

"You little cheat!" Gaz hissed. "Well, no matter! They're still going to win, no matter WHAT you throw at them!"

"We'll see about that, my dear princess."

Meanwhile, back in the city, Zim, Dib, Ludo, Sir Didymus, Ambrosious, and Hoggle resumed their journey through the city.

"I THINK WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT!" Dib cried excitedly.

"OH, PIECE OF CAKE!" Hoggle agreed.

Suddenly, goblin guards appeared all around our heroes, with lances and cannons. Some goblins even rode up on dinosaur like creatures, their lances at the ready.

"COMPANY, HALT!" The commander ordered. "LANCERS, READY! CANNON, FIRE!"

Suddenly, a goblin set off a cannon in the group's direction, causing them to quickly jump out of the way.

"CHARGE! CHARGE! CHARGE!"

"OH! RUN!" Zim cried when the lancers on dinosaurs suddenly started charging at them.

Following the Irken's advice, everybody turned and ran away. But, Sir Didymus was not pleased with this idea.

"AMBROSIOUS, TURN around!" The fox ordered his dog.

With a little effort, Didymus was able to turn Ambrosious around back to the lancers.

"CHARGE!" He shouted.

But unfortunately, the lancers charged back, startling Ambrosious, causing him to turn back around and run away.

"NO, NOT THAT WAY!" Didymus cried. "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY! THE BATTLE'S BEHIND US!"

Ambrosious ignored his master and continued to run away, but the fox refused to be a coward.

"AMBROSIOUS, CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT THIS?" He begged.

The dog continued to run away, paying no mind to the fox, so, he went with a different tactic.

"AMBROSIOUS, if you don't TURN AROUND THIS SECOND, I WILL NEVER FEED YOU AGAIN!"

That finally got the green canine's attention as he finally screeched to a halt and turned back around to the lancers.

"THAT'S BETTER." Sir Didymus nodded with approval.

Ambrosious whimpered as he finally caught sight of all the lancers surrounding them.

"DON'T WORRY, Ambrosious. WE'VE GOT THEM SURROUNDED." The fox laughed, even though it was obviously the opposite.

Back with Zim, Dib, Ludo, and Hoggle, they were still running away, when the Irken suddenly noticed that they were missing someone.

"DIDYMUS!" He shouted, looking around. "Guys! WHERE'S DIDYMUS?"

"I don't know." Dib shook his head.

Suddenly, they ran in front of a goblin with a cannon. The cannon was already loaded, ready to fire.

"FIRE!" He shouted, pulling the cord.

Luckily, our heroes were quick enough to jump out of the way, the cannonball hitting a wall instead.

"Guys, WE'VE GOT TO FIND DIDYMUS." Zim urged.

"Right," Dib nodded. "Quick! DOWN THIS WAY."

Meanwhile, back with Sir Didymus and Ambrosious, a red armored goblin suddenly rode in front on his dinosaur, his lance ready. The two intimidated each other a bit, before the fox made the first move.

"CHARGE!" He shouted.

With that, the two quickly rode toward each other, lance and staff down. Sir Didymus successfully knocked the goblin with his staff, pushing him off his dinosaur, with the reptile falling over as well.

"HA HA HA! TALLYHO!" Didymus shouted in victory before he bumped into a low hanging banister.

When Didymus fell off of Ambrosious, the dog took this chance to run away, running into an open house, the door closing behind him.

"AMBROSIOUS, YOU COWARD!" The fox growled at the green canine. "AMBROSIOUS!"

Back with the others, they could not find any sign of Sir Didymus anywhere. They were surrounded by goblins, and they needed to find a way out.

"QUICK, IN HERE!" Dib called, running into an open house.

"OOH, HOW'S LUDO GOING TO GET IN?" Hoggle asked as he and Zim followed the human inside.

However, it was not a problem as Ludo literally pulled off the whole wall and walked in, placing the wall right back. He climbed up the stairs and threw the roof off, looking over the city.

"YOU IN THERE, YOU'RE SURROUNDED!" The goblins below informed.

"HUH? SURROUNDED?" Ludo frowned.

"GET OUT!" Zim hissed at the goblins as they tried to get in. "LUDO, CALL THE ROCKS!"

Ludo nodded and howled at the sky, causing a room of boulders to open and have them all roll out. The rocks chased off a few goblins, but not in the area our heroes were in.

"LUDO! AGAIN!" Zim cried.

Meanwhile, back with Sir Didymus, the fox was trying to get Ambrosious to open the door and let him in.

"AMBROSIOUS, UNLOCK THIS DOOR!" He ordered.

Suddenly, Didymus felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and gasped when he saw goblins surrounding him.

"SO, HAD ENOUGH, HAVE YOU?" He smirked. "ALRIGHT THEN, THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS, AND I'LL SEE THAT YOU'RE WELL-TREATED."

Back with the others, they were still surrounded by goblins, still trying to keep them out.

"LUDO, PLEASE!" Dib cried to the behemoth.

Ludo howled to the sky again, and this time, the rocks rolled and chased the goblins surrounding both them and Sir Didymus away.

"Ha! NEXT TIME, SURRENDER." Didymus nodded.

The rocks continued to roll around, chasing the goblins away. A few were actually brave, trying to stand up to the rolling boulders.

"STEADY, MEN! HOLD YOUR GROUND!" The commander ordered as he and a few other goblins stood in front of a boulder.

The rock showed no sign of slowing down, and the goblins were getting nervous.

"OK, I TAKE IT BACK! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" The commander shouted.

But, the goblins were too late, and the boulder ran right through them, throwing them up in the air.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I'M GOING TO BED!" Another goblin huffed, walking into his house.

Not a second after, boulders rolled into his house and destroyed everything.

Up above in the castle, Jareth watched from a window as his goblins ran around frightened by the boulders, unsure of what to do.

"LET'S GO!" Hoggle called, leading the others to the castle.

Suddenly, they ran right in front of a loaded cannon, getting ready to fire.

"WHOA, JUMPING CHILI BEANS! DUCK!" Zim cried.

Quickly, everybody hit the ground, and the cannonball went straight over their heads, hitting a wall behind them.

"HA HA! MISSED!" Hoggle mocked as they all stood back up.

"OK, COME ON!" Dib led. "THIS WAY."

They continued to run, heading straight for the gates of the castle itself. They were almost there, when a group of goblins blocked their path.

"NOW WE HAVE YOU!" One of them mocked, before another boulder knocked them over, chasing them away.

"AND NOW YOU DON'T!" Hoggle laughed as they continued running to the castle.

"SIR DIDYMUS!" Zim called back into the city, desperate to find their friend.

"COMING!" Didymus called back, riding on Ambrosious. "HI-HO, SILVER!"

"THIS WAY." Dib called as Ludo opened the doors and they all ran up the stairs to the throne room.

When they finally got to the throne room, they looked around, but it was empty. Zim and Dib looked over to the clock, and were startled to see that their time was almost up.

"NO!" They cried.

They both turned to another set of stairs behind them, coming to a conclusion.

"HE MUST HAVE GONE THAT WAY." Dib pointed up the stairs.

"WELL THEN, COME ON!" Hoggle urged.

"No!" Dib stopped them "I have to FACE HIM ALONE."

"But WHY?" Didymus asked.

"Because THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE." Dib answered.

"Well, IF THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE, THEN THAT'S THE WAY YOU MUST DO IT." Didymus sighed. "BUT SHOULD YOU NEED US…"

"Yes," Hoggle nodded. "SHOULD YOU NEED US…"

"I'LL CALL." Dib nodded.

"THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU." Zim nodded before turning to the human. "Come on Dib, let's go get your sister back."

"No Zim, you need to stay back too." Dib shook his head.

"What? Why?!" Zim frowned.

"Because I was the one that wished Gaz away, so it's my responsibility to get her back."

"No." Zim shook his head. "I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"Zim…"

"NO! We've been through too much together already, Dib, I'm going in with you, and nothing you say is going to change my mind."

Dib blinked in surprise. He smiled and kissed the Irken passionately.

"Thank you, Zim." He whispered when they pulled apart.

"You're welcome." Zim smiled back. "Now, let's go get Gaz back."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Zim and Dib quickly ran up the stairs, entering another room that completely caught them off guard. It was like they entered a living M.C. Escher painting.

"Where are we?" Zim wondered.

"I don't know." Dib answered. "But I'm more concerned about where Jareth and Gaz are."

Suddenly, Jareth appeared underneath the boys, hanging upside down on the other side.

 _HOW YOU'VE TURNED MY WORLD_

 _YOU PRECIOUS THINGs_

 _YOU STARVE AND NEAR EXHAUST ME_

 _EVERYTHING I'VE DONE, I'VE DONE FOR YOU_

 _I MOVE THE STARS FOR NO ONE_

 _YOU'VE RUN SO LONG_

 _YOU'VE RUN SO FAR_

 _YOUR EYES CAN BE SO CRUEL_

 _JUST AS I CAN BE SO CRUEL_

 _THOUGH I DO BELIEVE IN YOU_

"ZIM! DIB!"

The boys looked in the direction of the voice calling to them, and they gasped when they saw Gaz all the way on the other side of the strange room.

"GAZ!" They called back.

"Quick! Take the stairs! We'll meet in the middle!" Gaz ordered.

"Ok! Be careful!" The boys called before the three of them started running on the stairs, trying to reach each other.

 _YES, I DO_

 _LIVE WITHOUT YOUR SUNLIGHT_

 _LOVE WITHOUT YOUR HEARTBEAT_

 _I...I CAN'T LIVE WITHIN YOU_

Jareth watched as Zim, Dib, and Gaz ran on the stairs, trying to reach each other. The three obviously had no idea what they were doing, and after a while, Gaz finally reached the middle.

"Boys!" Gaz called to the human and Irken, who was standing right above her.

"Gaz!" They called back.

"Quick! Jump! Time is almost up!"

Zim and Dib both nodded. They grabbed each other's hand and closed their eyes. They leaped off the ledge, jumping down to Gaz, but, when they felt that they were still falling, they opened their eyes, startled to see the world dissolving around them. They landed on the floor, but Gaz was nowhere to be seen. They looked ahead, and growled when they saw Jareth approaching them.

"GIVE ME THE CHILD." Dib demanded.

"Boys, BEWARE." Jareth warned. "I HAVE BEEN GENEROUS UP UNTIL NOW, I CAN BE CRUEL."

"GENEROUS!" Zim hissed. "WHAT HAVE YOU possibly DONE THAT'S GENEROUS?"

"EVERYTHING!" Jareth hissed. "EVERYTHING THAT YOU two have WANTED I HAVE DONE. Dib ASKED THAT THE CHILD BE TAKEN. I TOOK Her. YOU COWERED BEFORE ME. I WAS FRIGHTENING. I HAVE REORDERED TIME. I HAVE TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN, AND I HAVE DONE IT ALL FOR YOU!"

Jareth growled and sized up to the boys.

"I'M EXHAUSTED FROM LIVING UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF ME." Jareth smiled. "ISN'T THAT GENEROUS?"

"Say your lines, Dib." Zim nodded to the human.

Dib nodded back and turned back to the Goblin King.

"THROUGH DANGERS UNTOLD AND HARDSHIPS UNNUMBERED, I HAVE FOUGHT MY WAY HERE TO THE CASTLE BEYOND THE GOBLIN CITY, to take back the child you have stolen. FOR MY WILL IS AS STRONG AS YOURS. AND MY…"

"STOP! Wait!" Jareth interrupted, pulling out another crystal orb. "LOOK, Dib. LOOK WHAT I'M OFFERING YOU… YOUR DREAMS."

"AND my KINGDOM IS as GREAT." Dib ignored the gift, continuing his lines.

"I ASK FOR SO LITTLE." Jareth shook his head. "JUST LET ME RULE YOU, AND YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU WANT."

"KINGDOM IS as GREAT…" Dib frowned. "DAMN! I CAN NEVER REMEMBER THAT LINE."

"JUST FEAR ME, Dib. Give me Gaz. DO AS I SAY, AND I WILL BE YOUR SLAVE."

"MY KINGDOM IS as GREAT. MY KINGDOM IS as GREAT."

"Come on Dib. You know this one." Zim whispered from behind.

Suddenly, as if a bell went off in Dib's head, the human slowly turned to the Goblin King.

"YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME."

As if a spell had been lifted, the world started swirling around the boys. The Goblin King disappeared and so did the world around them. Bells chimed all around them, marking the thirteen hour. Suddenly, the room stopped spinning, and they were suddenly back in Dib's room.

"We… We're back!" Zim laughed.

"But wait!" Dib gasped. "Where's Gaz?!"

"Dib?! Zim?!"

Zim and Dib gasped when they heard Gaz screaming downstairs. They quickly went out to the hall and ran down the stairs.

"Gaz!" They both cried happily when they saw the purple haired girl.

"Boys!" Gaz cried happily as well.

The three of them ran up to each other and group hugged, squeezing each other tightly.

"I knew you guys wouldn't give up on me." Gaz smiled. "Especially you, Dib."

"Gaz… I am so sorry about what I said to you before." Dib hung his head.

"Don't be." Gaz shook her head. "You were right. I am a spoiled brat. Even the Goblin King thought so. But… I'm gonna try my best to change that."

"You are?" Dib frowned.

"Yes, Dib. I don't wanna be like that anymore. So, I'm gonna start changing."

"Gaz… you don't have to, if you don't want to. But, if that's what you want, then I will do whatever it takes to support you."

"Thanks Dib."

"I'll support you too." Zim added.

"Thanks Zim." Gaz nodded. "Now, I do believe you both have a play to practice for."

"Not yet," Dib smiled before turning to Zim. "First, I do believe we have an Irken PAK to fix."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Zim chuckled, rubbing his back. "I almost forgot about the pain."

"Well, then let's go down to dad's lab and see what we got." Gaz nodded. "Then, I'll help you with your play."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next day, Zim, Dib, and Gaz walked out of the skool building after an incredible performance of the class play.

"That was a great performance, you guys." Gaz smiled. "Really impressive. You played a great Sarah, Dib."

"Thanks." Dib laughed. "And you played a great Goblin King, Zim."

"Well, I had a pretty good teacher." Zim chuckled.

"You're talking about the real Goblin King, I know you are." Gaz laughed.

"Yeah, but, doing the play, just made me realize how much I miss our friends." Zim sighed.

"Yeah, I miss them too." Dib nodded sadly.

"Your friends all seemed like great people." Gaz sighed sympathetically. "I wish I could've met them."

"You would've loved them, Gaz, I'm sure." Dib nodded. "Well, you wanna come over Zim? Dad won't be home for a while, though, I'm glad he was here to watch our play."

"Sure, I'd love to come over." Zim nodded.

With that, the three of them ran over to the Membrane house and entered through the front door.

"You guys can come into my room if you want." Gaz offered. "Maybe we can play some games together?"

"Sure." The boys nodded.

With that, they followed Gaz up to her room. When they entered, they were startled to see Ludo in Gaz's mirror, standing right behind them.

"GOOD-BYE, Zim and Dib." The behemoth said sadly.

The three of them quickly turned around, expecting to see him standing behind them, but he was not there. They turned back to the mirror, and they saw Sir Didymus on the glass.

"AND REMEMBER, FAIR boys, SHOULD YOU NEED US…" He said before he disappeared, being replaced by Hoggle.

"YES, SHOULD YOU NEED US, FOR ANY REASON AT ALL…"

"We NEED YOU, HOGGLE." Dib said.

"YOU… YOU DO?" The dwarf asked them.

"We DON'T KNOW WHY," Zim shook his head. "BUT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN IN our lives, FOR NO REASON AT ALL, we NEED YOU…"

"ALL OF YOU" Gaz nodded.

.  
"OH, YOU DO?" Hoggle smirked before laughing fully. "WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?"

The three of them turned around and were delighted to see all their friends standing behind them, just waiting to surprise them.

Ludo, Sir Didymus, Ambrosious, Hoggle, the Fireys, the Worm, the Wiseman and his hat, and even a couple of goblins crowded the room. It was a big party all up in Gaz's room.

It was a wonderful feeling, to be surrounded by all their friends again. Zim and Dib laughed before they kissed, feeling complete in their lives. Outside, a white owl looked through the bedroom window, watching the party it was not invited to. The owl ruffled its feathers before flying away into the night, disappearing into the white moon, never to bother them again. 

YOU REMIND ME OF THE BABE

(WHAT BABE?)

THE BABE WITH THE POWER

(WHAT POWER?)

THE POWER OF VOODOO

(WHO DO?)

YOU DO

(DO WHAT?)

REMIND ME OF THE BABE

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

GET ME UNDERGROUND

SISTER, SISTER, PLEASE TAKE ME DOWN

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

NO ONE CAN BLAME YOU

FOR WALKING AWAy

BUT TOO MUCH REJECTION, UH-HUH

NO LOVE INJECTION, NO

LIFE CAN BE EASY

IT'S NOT ALWAYS SWELL

DON'T TELL ME TRUTH HURTS, LITTLE GIRL

'CAUSE IT HURTS LIKE HELL

(HURTS LIKE HELL, HURTS LIKE HELL)

BUT DOWN IN THE UNDERGROUND

OH OHH OHH OHH OH

YOU'LL FIND SOMEONE TRUE

DOWN UNDERGROUND

DOWN IN THE UNDERGROUND

OH OHH OHH OHH OH

A LAND SERENE

A CRYSTAL MOON

AH-HAH

IT'S ONLY FOREVER

NOT LONG AT ALL

LOST AND LONELY

THAT'S UNDERGROUND

UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERe

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

GET ME UNDERGROUND

SISTER, SISTER, PLEASE TAKE ME DOWN

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

WANNA GO UNDERGrOUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

IT'S ONLY

IT'S ONLY FOREVER

IT'S NOT LONG AT ALL

THEY'RE LOST AND THEY'RE LONELY

THAT'S UNDERGROUND

UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

WANNA GO UNDERGROUND

SISTER, SISTER, PLEASE TAKE ME DOWN

LET ME GO UNDERGROUNd

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

GET ME UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, GET ME OUT OF HERE

I'M MOVING DOWN NOW

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

I'M LIVING UNDERGROUND

SISTER, SISTER, PLEASE TAKE ME DOWN

I'M LIVING UNDERGROUND

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

I'M LIVING UNDERGROUND

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

I'M LIVING UNDERGROUND

AH HA, I'M UNDERGROUND

I'M LIVING UNDERGROUND

DADDY, DADDY, PLEASE

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

DADDY, DADDY, PLEASE

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

HEARD ABOUT A PLACE TODAY

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WHERE NOTHIN' EVER HURTS AGAIN

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

WANNA LIVE UNDERGROUND

UNDERGROUND


End file.
